A wealth of research indicates that there are many pathways into homelessness and this creates a major challenge for those seeking to support homeless individuals. Here are some of the shocking statistics about homelessness in UK today.

Employability - An overwhelming majority of our clients cite getting a job high on their list of aspirations, and see getting off benefits as their route to independent living. In 2005, OSW (a charity which supports homeless people to access education, training, volunteering and employment) calculated the cost of an unemployed person staying in an average hostel as approximately £15,500 per year. (1) Research (2) also shows that 60% of homeless people have few or no qualifications (the figure is 32% for the general population), and 19% of homeless people are engaged in training or education (compared to 48% of the general population). There is a strong association between homelessness and a lack of engagement with education, training and employment (ETE). The majority of homeless people or people living in hostels are unemployed and need help with basic skills training. (3)

Health and Well-being - Research into the health of rough sleepers (4) shows that upwards of 30% of homeless people experience mental health problems; 70% misuse drugs; and most alarming of all statistics, have a life expectancy of 42 years. In spite of this poor level of health, street homeless people are 40% more likely than the general public not to be registered with a GP. (5)  DoH research indicates that homeless people consume around four times more acute hospital services than the general population, costing a total of at least £85 mill in total per year. (6)

Personal Safety - Compared to the general public, homeless people are 13 times more likely to have experienced violence (often perpetrated by the general public) and 47 times more likely to be victims of theft. (7) Family conflict as the main immediate cause of homelessness for at least 65% of homeless young people surveyed, many of whom had left home for the first time before they were 16. (8)

Social Inclusion - Homeless people are amongst the most vulnerable and socially excluded in our society and often find it difficult to access the help they need. (9) Less than a third of homeless people spend time with non-homeless people, and almost 38% of homeless people said they spent their entire day alone.  A third of homeless men reported that their only daily contact was with service providers, and more than half of homeless people said they had no "family ties" (10)

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