Homelessness takes many forms. Rough sleeping can be startlingly visible, but many homeless people are out of view in derelict buildings, squats or sofa surfing. Hand in hand with homelessness comes many other related problems.

There are many reasons why a person may become homeless. Common reasons given are relationship breakdown, substance misuse, leaving an institution (prison, care, hospital etc), physical or mental health problems and escaping a violent relationship. There are also problems in wider society that can contribute towards homelessness. These include a lack of affordable housing; high levels of poverty, unemployment, the way in which the benefits system operates, or the way social housing is allocated.

Whatever the causes of homelessness, the consequences can be brutal. Homelessness damages people’s capability through loss of skills, through an inability to think about employment whilst worrying about housing, and through their health becoming impaired whilst homeless. Some turn to substances as a crutch. Homelessness also damages people’s resilience, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Therefore it is important to build people’s skills, confidence and capability to empower them to feel in control of their lives again and so they are able to move on from homelessness for good.