What is it like to be homeless?

This content applies to England only.

Most people in England are fortunate enough never to have to experience homelessness. But for those who do, it can be a very traumatic experience that is hard to escape from, damaging physical and emotional well-being along the way.

Here we look in depth at the experience of two of the main groups of homeless people:

• people staying in temporary accommodation
• people sleeping on the streets ('rough sleeping').

The experience of staying in temporary accommodation

Under current homelessness laws, local authorities must ensure that suitable temporary accommodation is available for homeless households who are in priority need and unintentionally homeless until settled (ie long-term) accommodation can be found. Such temporary accommodation can include:

• housing owned by local authorities
• short-term housing leased from private landlords
• hostels run by councils or housing associations
• bed and breakfast hotels (B&Bs).

Long periods of uncertainty

Although this accommodation is described as 'temporary', in practice, homeless households may be forced to spend a long time in such living arrangements due to the current shortage of settled housing. A Shelter survey of homeless households found that about half the respondents had been living in temporary accommodation for a year or more; in London, this figure was 62%. [1]

Traumatic experience

Homeless people suffer high levels of stress from their lack of control over their housing situation, combined with high levels of poverty and often poor living conditions. They often also feel very isolated, especially when temporary accommodation is provided at a distance from the household's local community and friends.

To make matters worse, many homeless people carry with them the distressing experiences they have suffered, which led to their homelessness in the first place, such as domestic violence, relationship breakdown, fleeing persecution from another country, drug and alcohol misuse, and mental health problems.

Adverse health effects

Living in temporary accommodation can have very damaging health effects, both physical and mental. Surveys conducted by Shelter have found that:

• 58% of families in temporary accommodation (other than bed and breakfast) said their health had suffered as a result of living in temporary accommodation [2]
• people who had been living in temporary accommodation for more than a year reported more health problems and greater use of health services [3]
• almost half of parents with children and 71% of childless people said they were depressed. [4]

The impact on children

Insecurity in temporary accommodation can also affect children's mental health and development. About half the families taking part in one study conducted by Shelter said their children were frightened, insecure, or worried about the future as a result of their homelessness. [5] There is evidence among homeless children of mood swings, nervousness and bad tempers, bed-wetting and disturbed sleep patterns. [6]

The impact of homelessness on children can be long-lasting. A study undertaken in Birmingham found that 40% of the homeless children studied were still suffering mental and developmental problems one year after being rehoused. [7]

Homelessness has an adverse effect on children's educational progress because of problems relating to accessing schools, attendance, and the isolation that children can feel due to their circumstances. Evidence suggests that homeless children tend to have lower academic achievements. [8]

'For four months we didn't go to school, we went to six houses, no, seven houses and six new schools… I don't like moving because every time I make new friends and then I have to move again and again and again.'
Alex, 10 [9]

Read more about children and families

The experience of sleeping on the streets

Where do street homeless people sleep?

In a survey of street homeless people commissioned by Shelter [10], 32% of those questioned had not had a permanent place to stay for more than three years, including 11% who had not had a settled home for more than 10 years.

In addition to more visible locations, such as doorways, pavements or steps, the street homeless people interviewed reported sleeping in less conspicuous settings such as:

• on a park bench
• in garages or sheds
• in stairwells or cupboards in blocks of flats
• on buses or trams
• in car parks
• in churchyards
• in woods.

Fear of attack

Many street homeless people avoid more conspicuous locations to sleep for fear of being attacked, abused, robbed or moved on. Street homeless people reported feeling threatened not only by other members of the street community but by the general public too. Many of those interviewed also claimed police harassment - being unfairly searched, arrested and repeatedly moved on.

Effects on physical and mental health

Many factors damage the health of people sleeping rough:

• Cold, hunger and fear experienced by people sleeping rough disrupts their sleep, which in turn damages both mental and physical health.
• Health is damaged through a lack of basic facilities for personal care such as bathing and washing clothes.
• Homeless people often have problems with drugs or alcohol, made worse through being on the street.
• 21% of street homeless people interviewed reported problems with mental health, particularly depression, suffering a sense of worthlessness, helplessness and humiliation.[11]

[1] Mitchell, F. et al., Living in limbo: survey of homeless households living in temporary accommodation, Shelter, London, 2004.

[2] Credland, S. et al., Sick and tired: the impact of temporary accommodation on the health of homeless families, Shelter, London, 2004.

[3] Mitchell, F. et al., Living in limbo: survey of homeless households living in temporary accommodation, Shelter, London, 2004.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Robinson, B., Where's home? Children and homelessness in Bristol, Shelter, London, 2002.

[6] Shelter, homelessness factsheet, p13, updated October 2007.

[7] Harker, L., Chance of a lifetime: the impact of bad housing on children's lives, Shelter, London, 2006.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Mustafa, Z., Listen up: the voices of homeless children, Shelter, London, 2004.

[10] Shelter, Reaching Out - a consultation with street homeless people 10 years after the launch of the Rough Sleepers Unit, London, 2007.

[11] Ibid.