Multiple Exclusion Homelessness: The Preventive Role of Social Work

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that many homeless people have multiple and complex needs but are excluded from social work support. The data on which this paper draws are part of a study investigating service interfaces and interprofessional working that took place in three areas of England in 2009–11. This paper reports and discusses the ways in which some social workers employed in statutory and voluntary agencies work with people with risks of and experiences of homelessness. The findings reveal that social workers recognise and make efforts to minimise the risks of homelessness by seeking to enhance people's ability to survive adverse circumstances. Other social work practice involves responding to the needs of people who are homeless and who have possible entitlements for social care. Social work practice with people with multiple exclusions may be more visible in the voluntary sector than the statutory sector, meaning that social work skills may therefore seem less available to people with homelessness experiences or at risk of homelessness than is the case. There may be scope for the profession to articulate more clearly the potential for social work support to improve outcomes for people at risk of homelessness or with experiences of it.