Housing insecurity and hidden homelessness: research

10 Discussion

10.1 Introduction

This research explores the experiences of hidden homelessness in Scotland and presents evidence for the Scottish Government to consider how the barriers that people may face in approaching the local authority for assistance can be resolved. This chapter synthesises findings from the literature and qualitative evidence gathered from participants. In particular, it considers how people experienced hidden homelessness and why they remained hidden, and how they sought to overcome the barriers they faced.

10.2 How people experienced hidden homelessness in Scotland and why they remained hidden

Hidden homelessness, in the Scottish context, occurs when people experiencing homelessness do not approach the local authority for assistance and are, therefore, not counted within official homelessness statistics. This definition may differ from other contexts. This research presents a range of experiences from third sector support organisations, local authorities, and people with lived experience of hidden homelessness and highlights a number of complexities related to identifying those who are ‘hidden’. Participants’ experiences shed light on the dynamic and non-linear nature of homelessness, wherein it is common to move between different living circumstances (or forms of homelessness), and between being hidden and ‘visible’ or in stable housing and back again. This can make it complex to isolate the factors that are unique to hidden homelessness.

Within this study, the drivers of homelessness for those experiencing hidden homelessness were similar to the known drivers of homelessness more generally (Alma Economics, 2019). Homelessness in Scotland, as in many other parts of the world, results from a combination of structural, individual and interpersonal factors. There is no single driver of homelessness. Instead, these factors all play a role and interact with one another – and the balance of causes differs over time and between different groups (Watts, Johnsen and Sosenko, 2015).

However, this research did indicate that barriers associated with some of these same factors can help explain why people remained hidden. For example, abuse and exploitation are significant pathways into homelessness more generally, but also feature experiences that form barriers keeping people from seeking homelessness assistance once there. Even when someone does leave an abusive situation, fear of the abuser, or misinformation shared by them, shame, and the stigma associated with abuse can deter people from seeking assistance from authorities. They may also distrust authorities (which can be due to previous experiences with authorities), fearing that their situation will not be understood or that their children may be taken into care. As a result, they can experience hidden homelessness— staying temporarily with friends, moving frequently, and avoiding formal systems.

People from minority ethnic groups can encounter various barriers to seeking assistance from local authorities for homelessness, shaped by a mix of structural and interpersonal factors, including cultural aspects, as set out earlier in the report. Minority ethnic groups are at an increased risk because of some of the perceptions communities have of themselves and others have of those communities. These can then lead to mistrust, misinformation and negative perceptions being perpetuated. As a result, people may not be signposted to support services or know that they can access them.

Additionally, care-experienced individuals and people leaving prison were described as being at increased risk of experiencing homelessness, and also hidden homelessness, for related reasons. The literature suggests that people in these situations are at higher risk of homelessness due to a lack of interpersonal support systems and opportunities to develop capabilities related to navigating housing systems. This study found that these past experiences can also deter them from seeking help, fearing institutional responses or due to a learned mistrust in authorities, or leaving them with challenges navigating homelessness support (Sanders, Hirneis and Picker, 2024).

Similarly, section 8.4.4 describes how intergenerational and other historical experiences of homelessness and housing insecurity could act as both drivers of homelessness and barriers to seeking assistance.

However, not all participants experiencing the same circumstances described encountering the same barriers, highlighting the individual and contextual nature of how hidden homelessness is experienced. For example, some participants with intergenerational experiences of housing insecurity saw their living conditions as normal. Others did not engage with services because they wanted to distance themselves from this lived experience by avoiding the same patterns of homelessness experienced by their parents. This highlights a paradox where some of those most in need of assistance may be less likely to seek it. It also reflects the relationship between the routes into homelessness – and specifically hidden homelessness – and the barriers that people face, whereby the same factors that led people to experience hidden homelessness are also the same factors that keep them hidden.

10.3 Overcoming barriers and accessing housing or support

This qualitative research highlights that some people found a route out of hidden homelessness (and homelessness more generally) by overcoming the initial barrier that hindered them from seeking assistance from the local authority, but others were triggered to seek support due to factors unrelated to their original barriers. For example, some people described barriers of understanding in terms of being unaware that their circumstance entitled them to homelessness assistance. For some in this group, once they were provided with accurate information, that was sufficient to prompt them to seek assistance from the local authority.

However, overcoming barriers to seek help was more complex for others. For example, some people with lived experience described that they were not aware that they were in a crisis at that time or that their situation entitled them to homelessness support. By viewing their current arrangement as comparatively better, they delayed seeking assistance from local authorities. This illustrates two overlapping barriers (lack of awareness of available support and lack of awareness of being in a housing crisis) but that these barriers play out in different ways, for different people - and potentially are influenced by their broader experiences with other barriers to explain why some go on to engage with the local authority but others still do not.

Where participants’ routes out of homelessness were not facilitated by a removal of their original stated barrier(s), this was often because other factors improved or worsened, changing their reflective or automatic motivation. For some, this took the form of a positive change and, for others, it was due to a deterioration in their circumstances. For example, this could be change for the worse in relation to health or the escalation of abuse, at which point the perceived benefits of seeking assistance outweighed the potential or perceived risks.

Additionally, some participants in this study found routes directly out of hidden homelessness into settled accommodation, for example by finding stable employment that enabled them to find settled accommodation without approaching the local authority.

This research also shows that social networks play an important but complicated role in the lives of those experiencing hidden homelessness. For those experiencing hidden homelessness in this study, breakdowns in social relationships were found to be a key driver of housing insecurity; fear of experiencing stigma from peers was a barrier to seeking support; and norms created through social networks, as well as inaccurate information shared within them, were found to disincentivise support-seeking. However, social networks were also key sources of support, prevention, and provision of temporary shelter (usually through sofa surfing). These networks were described as both vital and fragile. Relying on friends or family was described as straining relationships, as the prolonged need for support can exhaust goodwill and resources.

Taking these findings together, this research suggests that people experiencing hidden homelessness experience a range of barriers and motivational factors that may prevent or enable them to seek assistance from local authorities. Perceived risks or implications of seeking assistance, such as fear of stigma, repercussions, or mistrust of authorities, can outweigh the benefits, resulting in people remaining in precarious living situations.

This research also highlights factors that, while sometimes being protective and providing some stability, may also have kept people hidden. These are linked to financial capital, social capital, and physical capital.^[17] In some instances, experiences of hidden homelessness from this study were related to people having sufficient resources to allow them to maintain circumstances that they considered just ‘acceptable enough’ that they were not motivated to seek housing support. The role of social capital is described above in relation to social networks/relationships. Where people had access to financial capital, they were able to contribute to a household supporting them (if sofa surfing) or provide them with access to food and amenities. Where participants described access to certain forms of physical capital such as cars, vans, caravans, or other physical places to stay, these provided hidden roofless environments which allowed people a degree of security, comfort and freedom from stigma comparatively to sleeping rough outdoors.

Collectively, these findings indicate that addressing hidden homelessness is not solely about overcoming single barriers as people may become or remain hidden homeless due to a range of barriers that are context specific, individually experienced, and may change over time. The varied experiences in this study show that there is often no single reason why people remain hidden in homelessness. Therefore, the goal should be to erase as many barriers to seeking statutory support as possible, ensuring that enough obstacles are lowered to change the ‘risk-reward calculus’ unique to each individual, to support them to seek any needed assistance before circumstances worsen.