This online lunchtime seminar will be presented by Dr Ian Thomas (Cardiff University).
Homelessness is often equated with rough sleeping in academic, policy, and media discourses. In this seminar I seek to challenge this representation by introducing a typology acknowledging the different forms homelessness can take, and that people sometimes move between these forms over time. Secondary analysis was conducted of survey data from a study of single homeless people in Great Britain. The typology itself was based on the clustering together of 9 different ‘temporary housing situations’ that people reported experiencing in adulthood. Collectively, the temporary housing situations encompass homelessness in its broadest sense, ranging from literal rooflessness (rough sleeping) to people living in ‘hidden’ housing arrangements staying temporarily with family or friends (sofa-surfing). 4 clusters are described in terms of their patterns of homelessness and the characteristics of people in each cluster, including experiences of severe disadvantage, e.g., drug and alcohol dependency. In addition to adding nuance to our understanding of homelessness—as more than rough sleeping—the typology provides new (quantitative) evidence of the dynamics of homelessness. Tentatively, findings also suggest that patterns of homelessness are partly shaped by the disadvantages people face, but also along lines of gender and nationality.
If you would like to receive an invite for this seminar, please email WISERD.events@cardiff.ac.uk