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Working and Homeless: Exploring the Interaction of Housing and Labour Market Insecurity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2019

Katy Jones ,
Anya Ahmed ,
Iolo Madoc-Jones ,
Andrea Gibbons ,
Michaela Rogers  and
Mark Wilding
Katy Jones
Affiliation:
Manchester Metropolitan University E-mail: [email protected]
Anya Ahmed
Affiliation:
University of Salford E-mail: [email protected]
Iolo Madoc-Jones
Affiliation:
Wrexham Glyndŵr niversity E-mail: [email protected]
Andrea Gibbons
Affiliation:
University of Salford E-mail: [email protected]
Michaela Rogers
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield E-mail: [email protected]
Mark Wilding
Affiliation:
University of Salford E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Alongside an increasing focus on ‘prevention’, moving homeless adults into work is frequently considered an important part of helping them overcome homelessness and sustain an ‘independent’ life. However, a growing evidence base shows that work does not always offer the means to escape poverty, and many in employment face housing insecurity. Relatedly, there is increasing concern about the phenomenon of ‘in-work homelessness’. Drawing on new data from a study of people’s experience of homelessness in Wales, this article considers the hitherto underexplored topic of being both in work and homeless. The article provides a critical examination of how homelessness policy operates in practice, through presenting evidence of the experiences of a marginalised group (namely, working homeless people as users of homelessness services). It also considers how policy and practice could be modified to improve outcomes for homeless people and how prevention could play out in other contexts and welfare regimes.

Keywords

Homelessnesshousingemploymentpovertyconditionality
Type
Themed Section: Homelessness Prevention in an International Policy Context
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 121 - 132
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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