Here we will be looking at some of the impacts of homelessness.
Not having a home can make it harder for individuals to find a job, stay healthy and maintain relationships.
On individuals: With people often experiencing feelings of isolation, homelessness can also increase the chances of someone taking drugs or experiencing physical or mental health problems. Evidence suggests that the longer someone is in this position, the more difficult it can become to get back on their feet. As someone's problems become more complex, anti-social behaviour, involvement with the criminal justice system and acute NHS services become more likely.
On communities: Homelessness can often have an impact on local communities. We know from studies on the experiences of homeless people with complex problems, that there is a:
77% chance that someone could sleep rough.
53% chance that someone could be involved in street drinking.
32% chance that someone could beg.
10% chance that someone could be involved in sex work.
On the tax-payer: Addressing the immediate and long-term costs of homelessness can be significant.
The right thing to do for the homeless is to put in place services which prevent homelessness in the first place and which also help people quickly if they find themselves needing support. Having these procedures in place would also stop these costs escalating.
Studies on costs show that:
The average cost of an A&E visit is £147; 4 out of 10 experiencing homelessness have used A&E within the prior six months.
£1,668 is the average cost per arrest; 7 out of 10 homeless ex-offenders are reconvicted within one year.
£26, 000 is the estimated average cost of a homeless person each year to public purse,
£1 billion is the estimated annual cost of homelessness
I hope you have found the last two posts as interesting and are food for thought.
Homelessness isn't just about rough sleeping, it is about the break down in society and failure in government to do something about it.
"But some people want to rough sleep", I hear you say. Yes that is true and there will always be a very small minority who make that choice but the vast majority just want their basic needs met, which is not a lot to want really.
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