Document Actions
Homeless Link rural homelessness project
Homeless Link rural homelessness research is part of a one-year project, funded by Capacity Builders, focussing on agencies working in rural areas. The findings of the research has influence the development of capacity building support for agencies working with homeless people, or people at risk of homelessness in rural areas, delivered by Homeless Link’s Innovation and Good Practice Team.
Existing research of primarily non-statutory homeless groups has shown that, despite similarities in clients’ support needs in rural and urban areas, agencies supporting homeless people in rural areas operate under different circumstances. For Homeless Link to successfully respond to the needs of rural agencies, more clarity was needed around the issues that they face, and they needed different types of support than other services.
Thank you to all that responded to the online questionnaire for agencies working with homeless people in rural areas.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
An initial set of visits and interviews with agencies working in rural areas were conducted to identify the issues faced by these agencies and identify examples of good practice. Visits included 14 agencies in Cornwall, Yorkshire, Herefordshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk, Northumberland, Devon and Norfolk. A review of existing literature helped contextualise the research and also identify additional examples of good practice. The information gathered then informed the development of an internet based questionnaire, which was e-mailed to agency contacts identified in rural areas. The findings from the research have been published in an executive summary and full report available to download below.
Executive summary
Initial findings of the research project and key recommendations are summarised in the executive summary, which can be downloaded below. It includes information on barriers that rural agencies face, how these barriers are overcome and what support agencies would require from infrastructure organisations.
Executive summary - Homeless Link Rural homelessness project: Supporting homelessness agencies to deliver services in rural areas
Full report
The full report includes full findings from the interviews and online survey. It also includes specific examples of how agencies in rural areas have responded to the difficulties that they face.
Full report - Supporting homelessness agencies to deliver services in rural areas - Full report of findings around supporting rural capacity building.
Good practice webpages
The research findings have fed into the development of the capacity building work delivered by Homeless Link's Innovations and good practice team. Specific examples of good practice in rural areas can be found under the Rural homelessness issues pages
Do you work with homeless people in a rural area?
If you wish to discuss your experiences of rural homelessness or the possibility of a visit to your service from Homeless Link, please contact Richard Andrew, Innovations Project Officer, by email or on 020 7960 3014. We would also welcome any comments on the ways in which we can help to support individual agencies and on our provision of good practice resources.
Contact
If you are interested, have any ideas you would like to share, or any questions about the project please get in touch Richard Andrew on 020 7960 3014. For specific questions about the research project contact Linda Briheim-Crookall on 020 7960 3043.