Housing insecurity and hidden homelessness: research

11 Conclusions and recommendations for the future

11.1 Introduction

This chapter outlines the conclusions from this study and provides some recommendations for consideration. It ends with a discussion of potential avenues for future research and data collection.

11.2 Conclusions

The experiences of hidden homelessness in Scotland are varied. The nature of hidden homelessness makes it difficult to understand its true extent. The study draws on the insights of third sector participants about those perceived to be most at risk of hidden homelessness.

The five groups cited most often by third sector participants were:

• young people – frequently cited as at the highest risk, young people face homelessness due to relationship breakdowns, overcrowded households, financial instability, and abuse; they often sofa surf, unaware that they are considered homeless or unaware of available housing options
• those who have experienced domestic abuse – particularly pertinent to women, these individuals often remain in unsafe environments due to fear and anxiety about the homelessness system, concerns for their children, immigration status or a lack of awareness of rights
• women – women often experience hidden homelessness due to domestic abuse, relationship breakdowns, exploitation, and complex needs; they may exhaust social networks before seeking help, and this can be due to fearing repercussions for loved ones who have been supporting them while in their hidden circumstance
• minority ethnic groups – minority ethnic groups are more likely to live in overcrowded or concealed households due to complex housing needs, language barriers, and difficulties navigating the housing system; there are additional challenges for those with uncertain or restricted eligibility due to their immigration status
• those in higher or further education (students) – students can face hidden homelessness due to housing shortages and affordability issues in university locations; they may sofa surf, live in overcrowded households, or remain with abusive partners due to a lack of housing

However, experiences of people in these groups, as well as others, were not mutually exclusive and identities/characteristics/experiences were often intersectional, impacting lived experiences. This research identifies the circumstances and routes into hidden homelessness, highlighting structural factors, the breakdown of social networks and family dynamics, poor health and wellbeing, and abuse and exploitation. These drivers are similar to those for visible homelessness. A similar pattern was shown for the routes out of hidden homelessness, whereby the findings aligned with homelessness experiences more generally. However, we must also acknowledge that there are likely to be segments of the population of people experiencing homelessness who did not engage with services who were not interviewed as part of this research, and their experiences have not been captured.

This research categorised barriers to seeking assistance from local authority homelessness services into capability, motivational, and opportunity barriers.

• capability barriers included a lack of awareness of being in a housing crisis, prioritisation of non-housing needs, and difficulty in advocating for oneself
• motivational barriers included negative perceptions of homelessness services, mistrust, negative perceptions of the application process, fear of repercussions, fear of stigma, and worries over loss of autonomy
• opportunity barriers included poverty, digitalisation of the local authority system, lack of affordable housing, barriers stemming from intergenerational housing instability, lack of good quality and timely information, homelessness service failure to support diverse communication needs, and service accessibility

This research also explored turning points prompting individuals to seek assistance from the local authority. Key drivers included changes in financial security, the risk posed to friends and family, contact with wider support services, changes in health, and escalating abuse. Factors that triggered people in hidden homelessness to seek support were sometimes found to be related to the barrier(s) that originally kept them hidden, but sometimes were not.

Collectively, these findings indicate that addressing hidden homelessness is not as simple as removing individual barriers. People may become or remain hidden homeless due to a range of barriers that are context specific, individually experienced, and may change over time. For some, access to resources enabled them to remain hidden, or worsening circumstances prompted them into a more acute crisis that prompted intervention. These findings highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to lower as many barriers as possible to enable people to access homelessness support without the need to reach a negative trigger point.

11.3 Recommendations for the future

This section provides recommendations for engaging with people who are not currently being reached and ensuring that homelessness and support services are accessible to all. The efficacy and feasibility of these recommendations have not been tested in practice – rather, they provide suggestions based on the findings from this qualitative research, with its acknowledged limitations. Some recommendations may have resource implications for services with already low capacity so implementation should be considered carefully to avoid causing overstretching of existing capacity.

11.3.1 Recommendations for engaging with people not being reached: making people aware of the different circumstances of homelessness and their rights to assistance

This study identified that some people experiencing hidden homelessness were not aware that they were in a housing crisis and this prevented them from seeking assistance from the local authority. Some people, particularly those who were sofa surfing or staying in overcrowded households, thought that they were not experiencing homelessness or entitled to homelessness support because they had a roof over their heads. Additionally, a few people in this research described how they became aware of information and their rights for assistance by engaging with wider support services for non-housing-related matters. This was tied to barriers of psychological capability and physical opportunity which also impacted motivation. Therefore, there is a need to take a multi-pronged approach to reach and engage with people experiencing or at risk of hidden homelessness.

Recommendation 1:

Educate and support wider public services that come into contact with people experiencing or at risk of hidden homelessness, particularly regarding their statutory duties to respond.

Recommendation 2:

This study highlighted the important role of social networks as trusted sources of information. Therefore, community champions and representatives from various community groups, trained in delivering accurate and up-to-date homelessness information, could play a pivotal role in bridging gaps in knowledge and understanding – gaps which are sometimes exacerbated by cultural and/or linguistic issues. Such an approach could help to foster trust and encourage individuals to seek help.

Recommendation 3:

Implementing screening programmes in schools, colleges and universities could serve as an upstream approach to identifying young people at risk of homelessness - in particular, students at risk of sofa-surfing or unsuitably staying with family or friends. Early intervention is critical in preventing long-term homelessness and could help address the underlying issues contributing to a young person's housing instability. One original example of this in practice is the Geelong Project in Australia; this involved surveying high school children to identify people at risk of homelessness, resulting in a 40% reduction in youth homelessness and a 20% reduction in young people leaving school early (MacKenzie, 2018). Since then, the ‘Upstream’ school-based intervention has been piloted in Wales, Scotland and England. Learning from these pilots could valuably inform the development of screening and early intervention initiatives going forward.

11.3.2 Recommendations for accessible services: Supporting people with their wider needs that can help them to secure and maintain stable housing

This research illustrates that some people experiencing hidden homelessness had communication and access needs that were not necessarily aligned with the current processes within homelessness services. This experience created barriers related to psychological capability, physical opportunity and impacted motivation, preventing access to homelessness assistance.

Recommendation 4:

Local authorities could use the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) to gain a deep understanding of their communities' specific needs, enabling them to provide accessible and effective housing services. Each JSNA currently contains a section on housing and homelessness but more could be done to combine data sources to understand more about the people with a housing need in their local area. This assessment could help identify accessible service needs, allocate resources efficiently, and tailor approaches to support vulnerable groups. Additionally, training staff in cultural competence may be essential, particularly in areas with significant minority ethnic populations, to ensure services are respectful and responsive to the diverse backgrounds of those they serve. Implementing multilingual support and hiring diverse staff could enhance the accessibility of homelessness services, helping to address barriers that contribute to hidden homelessness.

Recommendation 5:

To make homelessness services more accessible, local authorities could consider expanding or flexing their opening hours and providing face-to-face support with the application process. Many services currently operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., which conflicts with the working hours of many people. Extending service hours into the evenings and weekends could allow those who work during standard hours to access support without jeopardising their employment. This flexibility is needed to ensure that all people, regardless of their work schedules, can seek the assistance they need.

Moreover, some people experiencing hidden homelessness may lack the digital skills and equipment required to complete online applications. Trained staff or volunteers could offer in-person guidance, helping applicants to fill out forms, understand eligibility criteria, and submit applications. This personal support should ensure that digital literacy barriers do not prevent people from accessing the services they need.

Recommendation 6:

Services must be tailored to the hidden homelessness experiences of different groups, recognising patterns in the routes into and out of homelessness. For instance, minority ethnic groups could benefit from services that are aware of the processes or where to signpost people, as well as culturally competent services that address language barriers and complex housing needs. Furthermore, the gendered differences in hidden homelessness experiences underscore the importance of designing gender-informed interventions that meet the specific needs of men and women. For example, if data collected indicates a need, access to female-only services should be promoted given the links between gender-based violence (or domestic abuse) and hidden homelessness. Similarly, these interventions for women should prioritise trauma-informed care. While acknowledging gender differences, it is also essential to avoid assumptions based solely on gender and to design flexible interventions that accommodate diverse needs.

Recommendation 7:

Local authorities will require sufficient capacity to deliver accessible and effective homelessness services. If there are interventions to raise awareness of hidden homelessness, or any expansions in service provision, there will likely be an increased demand for homelessness services. Demand may also increase due to the proposed new Housing Bill (Scotland) and there should be a review of the capacity of services to meet current and anticipated demand. It is to be hoped, however, that earlier prevention of homelessness may reduce demand for, and therefore the cost of, downstream homelessness interventions in the longer term.

11.4 Considerations for future research

This study has highlighted gaps in the current evidence base and, as such, this section provides suggestions for potential future research which would help to improve the current knowledge of hidden homelessness in Scotland.

Future research could explore methods for quantitative data collection to understand the extent and characteristics of hidden homelessness in Scotland. Detailed demographic and socioeconomic data could enable a more comprehensive understanding of the scope and scale of hidden homelessness. This is, of course, difficult given the nature of the population and the fact that they are hidden. Moreover, this research has highlighted the fluidity of people in hidden and visible circumstances of homelessness. As such, the hidden element of homelessness often precedes people seeking assistance.

There are opportunities to improve data collection at the local authority level, such as through HL1, by posing questions about how long individuals were in their previous situations. This could provide a foundation for stock and flow analysis, showing how those who experienced hidden homelessness move through the system. Nationally representative household surveys, like the discontinued Scottish Household Survey module on homelessness, could also help identify past experiences of hidden homelessness and quantify its financial impact. Enhancing this data collection would support economic analysis and inform a data framework for policy development and outcomes tracking, building on the recommendations in the Better Data, Better Results report (Centre for Homelessness Impact, 2019).

Subject to successful passage of the legislation, the prevention duties in the current Housing Bill will require relevant public bodies (beyond housing services) to ask about housing to prevent homelessness earlier in a person’s journey. Monitoring and evaluating this process could help to understand the impact of the new policy on the most at-risk groups identified in this study. It may also reveal which services people experiencing hidden homelessness engage with. This could help Scottish Government, local authorities and wider statutory services (including health, benefits, employment and justice services) target and refine strategies for engagement with people experiencing hidden homelessness.

Local authorities could carry out research to record and analyse interactions with people that they have reason to believe may be homeless but who do not make a formal application for assistance. Ethnographic research could help local authorities to build an understanding of any barriers that may be unique to their local area, or to help ascertain whether and/or how local context influences people's decisions about whether or not to approach the local authority for assistance. By better understanding the reasons behind these interactions that do not result in a formal homeless application, local authorities could make informed changes to improve service accessibility and engagement. Regularly reviewing this data could highlight areas needing attention, such as communication gaps, service accessibility issues, or specific concerns of particular community groups. Additionally, local authorities could track the effectiveness of the new Housing Bill Scotland in reaching out to people who would otherwise be hidden homeless, including any patterns in the groups well and less well served by these new duties (if passed).

Targeted research on at-risk groups, such as women, young people, and minority ethnic groups, could provide detailed insights into the challenges of hidden homelessness, helping to tailor interventions more effectively. Additionally, further research is needed for groups including LGBTI people, migrants, asylum seekers, and rural populations to deepen understanding of their specific barriers. Tools like journey mapping, which documents the lived experiences of those transitioning between hidden and visible homelessness, could highlight key intervention points, while network analysis could explore how social connections provide informal support to those facing housing instability.

Active engagement with individuals who have experienced hidden homelessness is essential for addressing hidden homelessness. Their involvement in testing recommendations and co-designing solutions could help to ensure that interventions are culturally sensitive, relevant, and effective. This participatory approach empowers individuals, fosters trust, and provides valuable insights into the unique challenges faced by different groups. Ultimately, partnerships between communities and service providers strengthen both service delivery and social cohesion, creating more sustainable and holistic solutions to hidden homelessness.