The psychosocial factors associated with homelessness are as many and varied as the individuals experiencing it. People living on the street are more likely to suffer from mental illness, and more likely to have experienced abuse, than people in the housed population. However, it would be a generalisation to deduce from this statistic that mental ill-health or experience of abuse causes homelessness. Either may be contributory factors in the complex reasons behind an individual’s homelessness.
The Case for Counselling First
We have sometimes encountered a hostile response to our housing proposals from social and care workers who believe that rough sleepers should be counselled before being provided with a roof over their heads. Their experience seems to be that finding a hostel place for rough sleepers is less of a problem than keeping a hostel space. People who abuse substances or behave aggressively are routinely thrown out of hostels. The provision of counselling services would aim to help homeless people address these issues and give them a better chance of keeping a place in a hostel.
The Case for Housing First
The hostile response we mentioned may be due to a terminology clash. When social and care workers refer to housing, they are talking about bricks and mortar solutions such as hostels and other shared accommodation. Our proposal involves the establishment of individual micro-dwellings that provide homeless people with a warm dry and safe location to inhabit while their other needs – which may well include psychological needs – are addressed.
Our planned micro-dwellings will be mass-produced at low cost and located in towns and cities throughout the country. We hope this model will become the Uber for housing and create a wealth of employment and business opportunities. Read more about the SHELTA project on our blog.
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