Search results
1 – 10 of 18Gaspar Brändle and Olga García
The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough assessment of the current statistical sources in Spain, as well as new indicators that extend and improve the European Typology…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough assessment of the current statistical sources in Spain, as well as new indicators that extend and improve the European Typology on Homelessness and Housing Exclusion (ETHOS) to better address every housing exclusion situation.
Design/methodology/approach
The main categories of the ETHOS typology are reviewed: definition, subcategories and the availability of data and statistical sources in Spain. The assessment of the information available is carried out by considering objective and subjective indicators. Additionally, the inclusion of new subcategories is proposed.
Findings
The strengths and weaknesses of the ETHOS model when applied in the study of housing exclusion are highlighted, and the need to have an appropriate set of indicators for measuring housing exclusion is stressed. The ETHOS typology may be the reference conceptual framework to elaborate a system of housing exclusion indicators. However, it would be necessary to extent this model in order to cover some situations of exclusion risk owing to insecure housing for economic reasons and environmental degradation, and including the subjective assessment of the people affected by these processes.
Originality/value
This study implements the ETHOS methodology checking the statistical information available distinguishing between objective and subjective indicators. Further, this paper shows an integrated overview of the four main ETHOS categories (rooflessness, houselessness, insecure and inadequate housing) with the four types of housing restrictions (accessibility, stability, adequacy and habitability).
Details
Keywords
Caroline Hughes, Iolo Madoc-Jones, Odette Parry and Sarah Dubberley
Notwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Notwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The purpose of this paper is to challenge that perception by giving voice to this marginalised group and exploring the mechanisms through which they made and remade as homeless and may be protected.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews (n=23) were carried out with a sample of homeless people who had accessed a range of homelessness services in the study area.
Findings
It is argued that largely deprived of the private sphere, which arguably renders them in most need of public space, homeless people find themselves most subject to scrutiny, surveillance, social disapprobation and exclusion.
Research limitations/implications
The authors reiterate that rather than simply being associated with rooflessness, homelessness is as a function of ongoing geographical marginalisation and social alienation.
Practical implications
The authors suggest that dedicated spaces for homeless people to occupy during the day continue to be in need of development because, whilst not unproblematic, they can disrupt processes associated with homelessness.
Social implications
Further resources should be directed towards homelessness and the issues that arise during daytime for homeless people.
Originality/value
The paper supports the literature which highlights the spatial practices by which stigmatised groups come to be separated from mainstream society.
Details
Keywords
Older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness have diverse and varied needs. Their needs are not the same as those of either younger homeless people or older people who…
Abstract
Older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness have diverse and varied needs. Their needs are not the same as those of either younger homeless people or older people who already have secure and appropriate housing. This article explains the problems and proposes cost‐effective solutions for commissioners and providers.
Hazel Morbey, Jenny Pannell and Robin Means
Older people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, have been the ‘forgotten homeless’ in policy debates and service provision. They tend to be less visible and less vocal…
Abstract
Older people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, have been the ‘forgotten homeless’ in policy debates and service provision. They tend to be less visible and less vocal than other groups, and low priority has been given to the impact of homelessness on their health and well‐being. Through the Older Homelessness Partnership Programme two national charities, The Housing Associations Charitable Trust and Help the Aged, funded seventeen innovative projects throughout the UK to provide services for this user group. The homeless charity Crisis contributed to an evaluation of the Programme. This paper explores the complex and multiple needs of older homeless people, which challenge the popular myth of the older homeless person as an archetypal "tramp" figure.
Nathalie Colasanti, Rocco Frondizi and Marco Meneguzzo
The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the evolution in the provision of public services’ delivery, with a specific focus on housing policies. New practices are being…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the evolution in the provision of public services’ delivery, with a specific focus on housing policies. New practices are being implemented, thanks to the cooperation of the public sector, private, and nonprofit actors. Rather than just providing assistance to households with income levels falling below specific thresholds, social housing addresses the broader and more complex areas of vulnerability that affect several categories, such as single parents, young students and professionals, and temporarily unemployed people. Co-production also comes into the picture, since many social housing projects require that beneficiaries contribute to the implementation of the project itself, for example by managing the buildings and common areas or by creating communities.
The chapter will start from considerations on the emergence of new housing needs. It will then review the literature on the concept of co-production of public services and provide a definition of social housing. Then, examples of social housing will be analyzed based on specific criteria derived from the literature and the theoretical framework. The methodology is qualitative and based on descriptive case analysis.
The chapter analyzes the evolution of public housing policies by taking into account the social and economic changes that have determined greater and more complex areas for public intervention, adopting a twofold approach of partnership and collaboration between the three sectors, and of co-production of public services by directly engaging the users.
Details
Keywords
This paper discusses findings from qualitative research exploring young asylum seekers' (aged 18‐25) definitions and experiences of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ at a time of transition…
Abstract
This paper discusses findings from qualitative research exploring young asylum seekers' (aged 18‐25) definitions and experiences of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ at a time of transition to adulthood and adjustment to life in a new country. Previous research on refugees and asylum seekers has focused largely on either children or adults, often failing to highlight the particular experiences of those in young adulthood. It will be argued that young asylum seekers of this age have specific needs and experiences associated with the dual transition they face, in both adapting to life in the UK and becoming adults, and the changing support network and entitlements available to them as they go through this process.
Details
Keywords
The paper aims to explore the relationship between rough sleepers, welfare and policy in the city of Liverpool, taking Liverpool City Council's Homelessness Strategy 2008‐2011 as…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the relationship between rough sleepers, welfare and policy in the city of Liverpool, taking Liverpool City Council's Homelessness Strategy 2008‐2011 as a starting point. The paper takes as its premise the notion of rough sleepers as among the most vulnerable and marginalised in society, and questions how well they are protected by policy.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach used is analysis and contextualisation of the strategy document in terms of welfare and criminological perspectives.
Findings
The paper posits that the city's European Capital of Culture Status for 2008 has acted as a springboard for further consumerist and regeneration‐driven aspirations, facilitated by restriction of entitlement to access city space for groups such as rough sleepers. The piece explores responses to rough sleepers and other “undesirable” city centre space users in Liverpool and contends that their behaviour and activities are criminalised. Ultimately, it is argued that the city, whilst it prioritises its goal of becoming a “world‐class city”, fails to deliver in terms of its welfare obligations.
Originality/value
It is argued that the failure of the strategy to adequately consider the direct needs of rough sleepers renders them subject to other approaches, namely criminalisation. The article is valuable to both academics interested in aspects of social justice and practitioners engaged in policy making, in that it highlights some of the ways in which policy can fail to meet its basic requirements.
Details