The Needs of Women Using Homelessness Services: The Results of Collaborative Research in London

This paper explores the results of a study conducted in collaboration with the homelessness sector in central London and an academic team. Data were collected on 134 women who used homelessness services in an area of central London during a nine-day window. In addition, fully anonymised service history records, covering an average period of 85 months, were reviewed with the consent of another 59 women with lived experience of homelessness. Nine women also agreed to in-depth interviews. Five key stakeholders in policy and practice were also interviewed. The research supports the findings of earlier research into the gender dynamics of homelessness. The results highlight the presence of a high-cost, high-risk population of women who are characterised by sustained and recurrent experience of homelessness, housing exclusion, and deprivation and who make repeated and sustained use of homelessness and other services without escaping homelessness. Strong associations between domestic abuse and women’s homelessness are evident in the results of the research, again echoing the results of earlier work. The possibilities of developing new strategic responses to women’s homelessness, including specialised forms of Housing First, are considered.