Led rather than leading? Research on homelessness in Britain

Abstract

This article examines the history of British homelessness research and its politicization over the past 40 years. The relationship between homelessness research and policy has been developing since the 1960s, and by the 1990s the majority of research was undertaken within the policy arena. In part, this has arisen because of the way in which research has been funded in the UK, with funding being dominated by government or those seeking to criticize its policies. To varying degrees, this is also attributable to the acceptance of a homelessness paradigm, which was ultimately no more than an ideological construct, the 'definitions' of homelessness within British legislation. Fuelled by the growth of homelessness and an increase in charitable activity, the volume of research grew during the 1980s and 1990s, but without concurrent methodological and theoretical development. Recent academic critiques of British homelessness research are reviewed, including the movement towards re-conceptualizating homelessness.

The periphery of care: Emergency services for homeless people in rural areas

“…In Britain, the post-war years saw little direct intervention by statutory government agencies to deal with the needs of single homeless people (Pleace and Quilgars, 2003;May et al, 2006), and the 1960s and 1970s have been regarded as decades of 'malign neglect' (Wolch and Dear, 1993), as successive governments were content to allow a range of voluntary sector organisations to take responsibility for providing for the single homeless (Fitzpatrick et al, 2000;Foord et al, 1998;Hutson and Liddiard, 1994;Saunders, 1986). However, during the 1970s and 1980s new voluntary organisations emerged to help raise the standards of non-statutory provision (Foord et al, 1998;Harris et al, 2001) such that by the 1990s such provision was becoming unevenly professionalised (Harris et al, 2001).…”

Visualizing homelessness: a study in photography and estrangement

“…Reviews of homelessness research in Britain have pointed to difficulties in the definition of 'homelessness' (Fitzpatrick, Kemp, & Klinker, 2000). These difficulties stem partly from policy changes that have re-directed attention from structural causes to differ-ences in subsets of homeless people, presumed to be individuals prone to the effects of social exclusion (Pleace & Quilgars, 2003). There have also been developments in the way that homelessness has been conceptualized from being a 'situation' to a process, where individuals enter and exit possibly more than one episode of homelessness (Fitzpatrick et al, 2000).…”

“…This recognition has given rise to an increased research emphasis on what Fitzpatrick et al (2000) call 'holistic' solutions and in inter-agency working to meet homeless people's needs, with a focus upon both prevention at one end and resettlement at the other. However, it has also directed researchers in their efforts to look for subgroups whose needs have not been met by policy initiatives, with the implication that this specialization has limited value for an understanding of homelessness in general (Pleace & Quilgars, 2003).…”

Television Characterizations of Homeless People in the United Kingdom

“…It is important to note that in addition to being influenced by existing political agendas media coverage also influences public policy sentiments (Borchard, 2000;Pleace & Quilars, 2003). Policies are likely to be developed and implemented if policy makers consider there to be sufficient public support "expressed through" media coverage (Buck et al, 2004;Hodgetts et al, 2004).…”