1. HOMELESSNESS. This essay will explore the practice o

1
HOMELESSNESS
This essay will explore the practice of Social Work with adults who are homeless.
The first sector emphases on the legal and historical context putting in mind the
housing act 1996, the new Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. The second part
discuses practice and theory specifically vulnerability and poverty model linked to
conflict and crisis theory. And lastly the last part discusses the collaborative working
and what forms a noble assessment and barricades to this.
Legal and Historical Context
Homelessness refers to a situation where an individual sleep rough or does not have
a permanent abode. Additionally, homelessness refers to a state where a person is
living in an unsuitable housing condition (Means, 2017). Thus, this means that the
person does not have a home and they are living on the streets. However, research
argue that an individual can be homeless even whilst having a shelter; this includes
living with friends and families, squatting, living in shelters and also staying in
unhealthy conditions that will affect their well-being (Fazel, Geddes, & Kushel, 2014).
Homelessness in England is a huge problem, in March 2017, most households were
recognised as homeless by the authorities (18, 070 households). Consequently, the
charities such as homeless link, which dealt with homelessness argue that the
statistics given by the officials is not detailed. The hidden homelessness problem by

HOMELESSNESS 2
all indication is still on a larger scale than the observable homelessness. Individuals
in the country especially those without a home, and are not entitled to the support of
homelessness from the government, tend to engage in different forms of insecure
and dangerous activities in exchange for accommodation such as trading sex for a
bed, rough sleeping, and sofa surfing (Fitzpatrick, Bramley et al., 2013).
Accordingly, this group of homeless people continue to be hidden from the figures
given by the official thus making it difficult in obtaining secure accommodation which
can be resolved if homeless individual (s) approach the homelessness support or the
authorities (Hodgson, Shelton, van den Bree et al., 2013). The government in
England experiences difficulty to offer effective solutions and support to the
homelessness without the actual picture of the hidden homelessness number.
The homelessness origin is traced back during the colonial America in the year
1640. The vagrants who are the English were considered outcast individuals thus the
police were always after them because they viewed the Vagrants to be undisciplined.
The homeless individuals were considered as beggars in mid-18th century and they
were located in different corners of the colonial towns (Zimmerman, 2013) which
was a as a result of King Philip war in the year 1675. The colonies were forced out of
their homes only to seek shelters at the forests and coastal regions. After a long
period of idleness a law was sanctioned to prevent idleness in the cities and the idle
people were made servants (Zimmerman, 2013). The security of many families were
threatened as the war continued between the Indians and the French which made
the families to become refugees in areas like New England and New York. As a
result of the war the number of the homeless people increased drastically during the
American Revolution due to insufficient needs and in the year 1857 the cities were
full of homeless people but there was no intervention from the government. However

HOMELESSNESS 3
some private charity organisation aimed to solve the problem of homelessness but it
did not work (Zimmerman, 2013) because they were not fully prepared to handle the
homeless due to inadequate resources. After civil war the case worsened beyond
human imagination and most people remained unemployed, additionally, most
people lost their properties to war and natural calamities resulting to homelessness.
As population continued to increase, homelessness was passed from generation to
generation in form of poverty and crime (Bone, 2014).
A great number of young men face homelessness, according to statistics most of the
young men that approached the local authorities did not receive any meaningful help
thus placing them at the risk of abuse and violence, sleeping rough (Medcalf, &
Russell, 2014). London is captured to be the hotspot of homeless people between
the age of 20 to 35 especially in Newham Council. One out of twenty-four people
face house insecurity, more than 14,500 individuals are in temporary
accommodation and more than 50 sleep rough (Vines, McNaney, Clarke, Lindsay et
al., 2013). According to Bone (2014) statistics conducted in United Kingdom show
that homelessness and housing insecurity continue to spread wide to other parts of
England, for example in south-east and Midlands, and the influence of extraordinary
rents and well-being cuts undulates outwards. People that are homeless face
different stigma such as discrimination and at most time they are neglected by
people in the community.
According to the housing Act 1996 as modified by the homelessness Act 2002, the
local authorities must hand realistic preference when allotting housing to the
homeless. The housing is allocated according to the circumstances of an individual,
it is divided into four bands which include the emergency band, gold band, silver

HOMELESSNESS 4
band and bronze band (Hodkinson, & Robbins, 2013). This is in accordance to the
needs of the individual and priority of housing rules.
The Homelessness Reduction Act aims to help people before experiencing
homelessness. In April 2017 the Act gained Royal Approval therefore it came into
force in the year 2018. The main provision of the Act is the universal homelessness
introduction ‘prevention’ a duty for all households that are eligible (Booth &
Choudhary, 2013). Apart from relief, the Act takes effective steps to secure
accommodation for any homeless person that is eligible (Choudhary, 2013). In the
past the local authorities did not have any legislative duty to carry out prevention
work for all households. The main intention is to guarantee that any individual facing
homelessness irrespective of priority status need has a right to receive free advice
and information to assist them with their condition and maximize support if they
become homeless (Booth & Choudhary, 2013). It implies that 56 days preceding to
becoming homeless (From 28 days beforehand) they should get support, supposing
they approach the resident authority. As part of the prevention obligation,
accommodation officers must make a ‘particular housing plan’ with those that
present. The Act also places a first-hand responsibility on communal authorities
(such as the NHS) to alert the housing authority if their employee is experiencing
homelessness, is this done to reduce cases of homelessness which starts by
communal authority reporting to housing authority in case an employee at work
station faces housing challenges. The homeless face several challenges due lack of
engagement that is poor health services. Some experience chaotic lifestyle (mental
and physical torture) due to lack of contactable details such as addresses and
telephone contact (Means, 2017).

HOMELESSNESS 5
However, with the new Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 the English council
imposed new duties in taking helpful steps to relieve and reduce homelessness.
However, the councils faced drastic funding cut at the time the duty was imposed in
April 2018. Austerity cuts for services support designed to offer help to the people
has increased homelessness and rough sleeping on the streets (Bone, 2014).
According to the National Audit Office between 2010 and 2017, funding for housing-
related services support was cut by more than two-thirds (69%) compared with a fall
of 46% in wider housing services, putting down cuts throughout the country.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) brought about reactions from 103 local
authorities in England, illuminating a general cut of 18% nationwide in the past five
years, from £87m to £72m (Vines, McNaney, Clarke, Lindsay et al., 2013).
Practice and theory
According to Payne (2014), a theory refers to universal ideas explains and label the
worlds knowledge in a systematized way. Set of ideas come as a result of social
work theory that depicts and explain individuals in the society and how they can be
understood. This helps to show that social workers have a perspective that is
hypothetical which includes combining social work philosophies, people’s behaviors,
experiences and understanding.
There are various models and theories within homelessness social work that guide
practices. For example the conflict theory according to Karl Marx states that because
of unlimited resources, the society is in a state of continuous conflict. Conformity and
consensus does not hold society’s social orders, however power and domination
does (Luhmann, Baecker, & Gilgen, 2013). The poor in the society undergo
oppression by those who poses power and wealth because the wealthy and the

HOMELESSNESS 6
powerful will stop at nothing to a hold their power and wealth. This suggests that
people in the society work only to maximize their benefits and not for the benefit of
others.
Often people experiencing homelessness are the poor in the society. The poor are
known as the proletariat and the wealthy known as the bourgeoisie (Burrell &
Morgan, 2017). This suggests that the bourgeoisie normally make decisions for the
proletariats rather than involving them. This is because the wealthy control the large
part of the society thus they end up oppressing the lower class by taking advantage
of them. The upper class in the society are financial stable and they run large
companies where the lower class are employed (Levinson, Cookson & Sadovnik,
2014). Therefore the problem of homelessness is as a result of class separation
because of a gap created between the rich and the poor. Social worker must be
aware that their opinion at times may be undervalued. They should also be well
informed of the evidence for and against the conflicting models.
In the case of decision making, the lower class have no authority, however those in
upper class have say in everything that happen in a capitalist wealthy society. For
example in case of employment, the bourgeoisie will decide if the poor is eligible for
hire or not (Bone, 2014). Both must come to an agreement to make decisions. The
bourgeoisie is also responsible for deciding the amount of pay to made to the
proletariat, this suggest that the bourgeoisie is the expert in this case (Bone, 2014).
Employment is important for the poor since by getting paid they will be able to
sustain themselves to avoid homelessness. Some employment companies provide
housing allowance and food allowance which are both basic needs.

HOMELESSNESS 7
Individuals In power exploit those in that are underprivileged in the society. Most
people become homeless at the end of an assured lease or being served a notice to
quit by the private owners of the house. Consequently they find themselves in a
difficult condition of affording suitable alternative place to reside. Most homelessness
situations in England is as a result of rent raise and cuts to housing benefits (Craib,
2015).
According to Durkheim(2014) homelessness is known as part of the experiences of
human and it cannot be termed based on an individual homeless choices or actions.
In addition to this each person (individuals in the society) has his or her own private
approach, the model of poverty depicts privatization and general practice. Individuals
experiencing homelessness services from the government depicts positivity, since it
has displayed reduction in number of street families in towns and cities (De Chesnay
& Anderson, 2019). Individuals should find a place to take care of themselves which
promotes progression towards a connected and satisfying life styles. This will help
reduce the problem of homelessness and additionally, management will be easy.
The service users using homelessness services from the community care such as
charities and organizations- the community care in most cases perform small tasks
to help the homeless, however the government tends to put much pressure on them
which seems to increase their duties and responsibilities on the homeless making
their tasks quite critical and demanding. Additionally, some well-being reforms
undermine the positive policies of different charities and organizations (Fry, Langley
& Shelton, 2017).

HOMELESSNESS 8
The vulnerability model on the other hand shows different risks experienced by
homeless people as they continue to stay on the streets. For example lack of health
care and the health problems associated with street living (Fry, Langley & Shelton,
2017). Considering the crisis theory, this theory gives social workers the exposure as
to why groups such as the homelessness might experience oppression or limitations
and how the social workers might react to this (Clarke, 2016). The intervention of
crisis will continue to be a primary intervention of social work. This is the efficacy of
improving the ability of people to life stress and offering support to those
experiencing distress (Heinrich, 2013). Certain life events create hazards among
people. In addition the crisis elope are only when there is need for cultural, economic
and political turnoff. Moreover, if are crises in the society an individual must turn to
ways that will offer them with specialized treatment for their needs (Zimmerman,
2013).
According to Zimmerman (2013) the term homelessness is a crisis itself. Which
means a person does not have a place to reside. This can make an individual to
acquire new identity that has been given to them, which is established further by self-
acceptance and succeeding the conducts that are anticipated of the person through
others (Pilgrim, 2014). This has a negative effect since the homeless at most times
are considered dangerous individuals who are roaming the streets, such cases
create discrimination and stigmatization to the individuals. Stigma around the
homeless may discourage them from seeking help to better their lives as the society
creates a picture or idea of someone who is homeless (Pilgrim, 2014).
Diversity, collaboration and conflict

HOMELESSNESS 9
Assembling together abilities, information and practices from a variety of specialists
and others within the homelessness social work, is seen as an efficient way to
encourage problem solving of the homeless individuals. Several ways and terms can
be combined to encourage collaboration (Murphy, 2014). Most people that are
homeless are now receiving care from different organizations or charities.
The multi-disciplinary team helping the homeless consists of church leaders,
organization managers and support workers to ensure that they get proper care that
they require (Dickens, 2017). Most homeless people live in poor conditions that
create problem for developing, for example a treatment plan; for most of them
keeping medication supply may be difficult while still living on the streets.
Additionally, living on the street and trying to avoid use of alcohol might be a great
challenge as homelessness encourage and provide opportunities for use of alcohol
(REF)
(REF) Religious places such as churches and mosques provide shelters for the
homeless especially during tough weather like winter. The homeless are more
vulnerable when the temperatures drop and most people lose their lives to harsh
conditions. Additionally, religious places ensure that some of the homeless
individuals can get effective support from its members and acquire a more
permanent housing. However, providing housing alone for the homeless does not
totally solve the problem (Milbourne, & Cloke, 2013). The homeless require food
and clothes too which are the primary needs. This same approach applies to
charities which offers support to the homeless by providing shelter, clothes and food.
It is necessary to be effective within a team, this creates a nous of collaboration and
joint resolution (Dickens, 2017). Every person working together to solve

HOMELESSNESS 10
homelessness needs to learn and understand the purpose and goals of the team.
According to Brown and Bourne (1995), social work has a training of being self-
governing and self-directed, but also there is a solid principles of participation and
having reassuring connections. This is seen as being positive, a social work team
working together with others are more likely to engage in assimilation of facilities.
Barriers can cause difficulties especially when one is trying to achieve desired goal.
Example of this barriers include mistrust, hard to reach, frustrations, power, and
conflicts. Organizations have differences in their ability to collaborate effectively
across teams and themselves. Barriers to collaboration of Interpersonal, cultural or
organizational unique combination affects any organization that is going through
difficulty in joining forces. For example lack of trust, in order to collaborate effectively
mutual trust is necessary, most organizations and religious places such as churches
supporting the homeless experience mistrust. Based on where the individual is
based, culture may divide the people in this collaboration. Lack of trust forms a
barrier to many other barriers experienced to collaboration (Egan, Maidment, &
Connolly, 2015). Additionally, frustrations is a barrier affecting collaborations since it
poses a challenge to the teams; this may lead to misunderstanding, resistance thus
a threat to the team.
To guarantee a proper practice and development of dignity, it is necessary that the
team has an adaptable environment to discourage unhealthy behaviors practiced in
organizations for example ‘whistleblowing’ (Dodds, Heslop, & Meredith, 2018). Open
relationship promote good and honest practices, additionally upright leadership that
can be obtained through proper management and supervision will enable people
without any problem raise burning issue with the members.

HOMELESSNESS 11
The ability to communicate among individuals is very important in social work for the
purpose of encouraging good practice. This involves the ability to listen and receive
and interpret information accurately (Kadushin, & Harkness, 2014). Accepting
different ideas from people without interrupting is very vital since it encourages open
communication amongst teammates. Poor communication may result to inaccurate
conclusions which may end up affecting the collaboration.
Nevertheless, Schraer (2015) established that in Community Care’s whistleblowing
survey, more than 327 social workers operating, had observed perilous
arrangements inside their place of work, and fewer than 15% understood that they
would sense reinforcement if they did promote trepidations. The social workers that
had described their worries, 57% alleged that their worries were taken assumed, and
hence not considered, whereas 73% stated no active exploit was taken. Schraer
(2015) also conveyed a substantial figure of social workers indicated informers inside
their establishment were ‘oppressed, disregarded and mistreated, and their run-
through was examined.
Aspinwall-Roberts (2012), recognised an example of a good practice of social work
during his research. It is necessary to notice that some individuals in the society are
not comfortable when they see a social work visiting since this is tied on shame,
stigma and worry. The information required by the social worker to be established
from the users of the services may be problematic, private or intimate. As a result,
the assessment quality among the services of adults is essential to deciding what is
going wrong and the necessary solutions. According to an Aspinwall-Roberts (2012)
an assessment has three critical ideologies. The first one is to assist the service user
to be distinct about their affairs and start to see some solutions to these. The second
principle is to comprehend the service user and make an operational connection with

HOMELESSNESS 12
them and at the same time support other solutions. Finally, the third principle is to be
the major component of support and services access for the service users, since
they are depending on social workers to do the greatest they can to upkeep them
and observe their advances (Aspinwall-Roberts, 2012).
The homelessness assessment is to provide an idea of what individuals need. The
individual may be comprehended by several officials (religious places and charities).
This evaluation might take into consideration some of the factors such as
behaviours, beliefs and activities, connection between individuals, alcohol and
substance misuse and lastly the strength and objectives that are yet to come
(Dodds, Heslop, & Meredith, 2018). People that are homeless should be part of the
process of decision making regarding what they need and what will satisfy them.
This will give the service user the feeling of empowerment. During the assessment it
is important to collaborate with individuals using the homelessness services
including agencies in connection with them (in such situations). It is also important
for the social worker to build a good working rapport with the service user which
includes being non- judgmental, compassionate and open-minded.
Conversely there are barriers to assessment undertaking. For example equal rights,
independence, security and care. These may demonstrate thought-provoking for
those taking the assessment and targeting to encourage a practice that is person-
centred (Aspinwall-Roberts, 2012). Example of a barrier; it can be difficult to assess
someone who is not comfortable to be assessed, therefore it is important to use an
individual that has already developed a connection with the homeless people. For
example a church leader come in contact with the homeless in most cases, that is
the church leaders meet frequently with the homeless, in extreme cases where the
homeless go to nearby churches to look for help (food to eat, clothing and a place to

HOMELESSNESS 13
sleep). The second barrier is that one could give fake information by insisting to
acquire wrong information from the person, that is making assumptions before
listening to the full information. In addition to this, visiting a group of homeless people
may result to one person putting words into another’s, and this may result to
fabricated information thus in order to solve this it is important to visit the person if
the others are not present (Dodds, Heslop, & Meredith, 2018).
Social work can be challenging, usually social workers will have to weigh on equally
upkeep and control when operating with the service users as it is still fundamental
within social work exercise; for example complementing protection and employment
(Kadushin, & Harkness, 2014). Social workers experience pressure whereas
pointing for modification in people and culture, even as matching the service user’s
demands and desires bearing in mind their wishes, capabilities, benefits of the rest
and authorised responsibilities. Within the practice of social work, care as opposed
to control remain and this is as a result of wants, dangers and the world notion of
what they are, variation over a period (Kadushin, & Harkness, 2014). Subsequently,
looking for control or management and sustenance for daily run-through can evade
expectations.
Consequently, with social work being complex already, it can turn out to be more
difficult when captivating on another want for example mental health and substance
abuse. This is because mental health and substance abuse among the homeless is
rampant making social work demanding and critical. It is evident enough that most
homeless people experience substance abuse and face mental health issues for
example alcohol use (Kadushin, & Harkness, 2014). This poses a great challenge to
organizations working within homelessness. Homelessness and substance mis- use
overlap and it creates health problems to the individual. Helping homeless individual

HOMELESSNESS 14
facing health problems is problematic because constant supply of medicine will be
difficult (Kadushin, & Harkness, 2014).
Homelessness can result to use of drugs since this individuals may want to suppress
their emotion thought and anxiety by use of drugs (Dodds, Heslop, & Meredith,
2018). Thus working with people that are both homeless and drugs and substance
misuse can be a challenging role especially to social workers. Additionally, this
contributes to the high rise of assaults on the streets, insecurity and death toll
increase. Substance abuse results to poor health (Dodds, Heslop, & Meredith,
2018). The care act 2014 has principles that defend susceptible adults from
mistreatment and improvement of their life quality. The care givers should use this
approach when they are safeguarding the vulnerable adults.
In conclusion, the homeless services has developed over a long period of time with
improvement of legislation and introduction of new policies and guidance and how all
this can shape practice. The models discussed above both have influence on the
services provided to individuals that are homelessness. As a result, it is necessary to
take this into consideration when working with the service users. Stigmatization is
still an apparent issue today, thus it is necessary to come up with approaches that
will prevent this acts against the homeless people (anti-discrimination approaches) .
Multi-agency and collaboration functioning is used in social work to provide the best
services for the individuals experiencing the problem of
homelessness including what forms a noble assessment and barricades to this.
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HOMELESSNESS 15
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