Key Findings

Between June 2022 and May 2023, 15 in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out by the Crisis Best Practice team with people who had recent experience of homelessness, to find out more about their experiences in the lead-up to housing crisis and potential “windows of opportunity” available to provide help when facing the risk of homelessness. Each participant completed a checklist with a list of potential frontline services they may have had engagement with in the six months prior to becoming legally homeless.

• The 15 interviewees had been in touch with at least 80 services combined prior to making a homelessness application.
• All had been in contact with at least three services and on average had been in contact with five.
• Almost all had been in touch with local authority housing services in the six months prior to becoming homeless.
• Almost a third had reached out to domestic abuse services/helplines (4 out of 15)
• 80% had contact with health services during that period.
• Almost one third had some level of interaction with the justice system, mainly as victim/survivors rather than perpetrators.
• Over half (8 of 15) had received help from money advice services in that period before homelessness.
• Two thirds were in touch with jobcentre work coaches.
• Almost half (7 of 15) were in touch with local authority social work or education services.
• Two had been in touch with drugs or alcohol services in the preceding six months but neither felt that their substance usage impacted their housing situation, though one did suggest that it could have made it more difficult to move on from homelessness.
• Almost two thirds had contacted their landlord or mortgage provider in the months prior to becoming homeless. At least a third hadn’t felt able to do so.