Hidden homelessness: international evidence review

This report "Exploring Ways of Identifying and Counting Hidden Homeless Populations" presents an overview of the methods used internationally to identify or count people experiencing hidden forms of homelessness and the populations that may be likely to experience it. The report also considers the Scottish context and suggests areas where further research may be useful.


References

Addison, K., Batt, R., & Stock, K. (2022). Housing Overcrowding and Ethnicity: A Literature Review. Retrieved from https://gov.wales/housing-overcrowding-and-ethnicity-literature-review

Agans, R., Jefferson, M., Bowling, J., Zeng, D., Yang, J., & Silverbush, M. (2014). Enumerating the Hidden Homeless: Strategies to Estimate the Homeless Gone Missing From a Point-in-Time Count. Journal of Official Statistics, 30. doi:10.2478/jos-2014-0014

Auerswald, C., Lin, J., Petry, Laura, & Hyatt, S. (2013). Hidden in Plain Sight: An Assessment of Youth Inclusion in Point-in-Time Counts of California's Unsheltered Homeless Population. Retrieved from https://www.homelesshub.ca/resource/hidden-plain-sight-assessment-youth-inclusion-point-time-counts-california%E2%80%99s-unsheltered

Australian Boureau of Statistics. (2023a). Estimating Homelessness: Census 2021. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/estimating-homelessness-census/2021

Australian Boureau of Statistics. (2023b). Estimating Homelessness: Census methodology. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/estimating-homelessness-census-methodology/2021#understanding-data-quality

Baptista, Benjaminsen, L., Pleace, N., & Busch-Geertsema, V. (2012). Counting Homeless People in the 2011 Housing and Population Census : EOH Comparative Studies on Homelessness 2.

Baptista, I., Benjaminsen, L., Busch-Geertsema, V., Pleace, N., & Striano, M. (2016). Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Homelessness: The Humanitarian Crisis and the Homelessness Sector in Europe. Retrieved from Brussels:

Belanger, Y. (2013). Homelessness, Urban Aboriginal People, and the Need for a National Enumeration. aboriginal policy studies, 2. doi:10.5663/aps.v2i2.19006

Benjaminsen, L., Dhalmann, H., Dyb, E., Knutagård, M., & Lindén, J. (2020). Measurement of Homelessness in the Nordic Countries. European Journal of Homelessness, 14(3), 180. Retrieved from https://www.feantsaresearch.org/public/user/Observatory/2021/EJH_14-3_A7_v02.pdf

Berry, B. (2007). A repeated observation approach for estimating the street homeless population. Eval Rev, 31(2), 166-199. doi:10.1177/0193841x06296947

Bevitt, A., Chigavazira, A., Herault, N., Johnson, G., Moschion, J., Scutella, R., . . . Kalb, G. (2015). Journeys Home: Reserach report No. 6 - Complete findings waves 1 to 6. Retrieved from https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2202865/Scutella_et_al_Journeys_Home_Research_Report_W6.pdf

Bimpson, E., Reeve, K., & Parr, S. (2020). Homeless mothers: Key research findings. Retrieved from UK: https://housingevidence.ac.uk/publications/homeless-mothers-key-research-findings/#:~:text=The%20key%20findings%20of%20the%20report%20are%3A%201,them%20falling%20through%20the%20gaps%20between%20More%20items

Bramley, G., Fitzpatrick, S., McIntyre, J., & Johnsen, S. (2022). Homelessness amongst Black and minoritised ethnic communities in the UK. A statistical report on the state of the nation. Edinburgh: Heriot-Watt University.

Bretherton, J. (2017). Reconsidering Gender in Homelessness. European Journal of Homelessness, 11(1), 1-22. Retrieved from https://www.feantsa.org/download/feantsa-ejh-11-1_a1-v045913941269604492255.pdf

Bretherton, J., & Pleace, N. (2018). Women and Rough Sleeping : A Critical Review of Current Research and Methodology. Retrieved from https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/138075/

Busch-Geertsema, V., Benjaminsen, L., Filipovic Hrast, M., & Pleace, N. (2014). Extent and Profile of Homelessness in European Member States:A statistical update.

Busch-Geertsema, V., Culhane, D., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2016). Developing a global framework for conceptualising and measuring homelessness. Habitat International, 55, 124-132. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.03.004

Calvo, F., & Carbonell, X. (2017). Using WhatsApp for a homeless count. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 26(1), 25-32. doi:10.1080/10530789.2017.1286793

Clarke, A. (2016). The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK. Social Inclusion, 4, 60. doi:10.17645/si.v4i4.597

Clarke, A., Burgess, G., Morris, S., & Udagawa, C. (2015). Estimating the scale of youth homelessness in the UK. Retrieved from https://www.basw.co.uk/resources/estimating-scale-youth-homelessness-uk

Cloke, P., Milbourne, P., & Widdowfield, R. (2001). Interconnecting housing, homelessness and rurality: evidence from local authority homelessness officers in England and Wales. Journal of Rural Studies, 17(1), 99-111. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-0167(00)00029-2

Cloke, P., Widdowfield, R. C., & Milbourne, P. (2000). The Hidden and Emerging Spaces of Rural Homelessness. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 32(1), 77-90. doi:10.1068/a3242

Curry, S. R., Morton, M., Matjasko, J. L., Dworsky, A., Samuels, G. M., & Schlueter, D. (2017). Youth Homelessness and Vulnerability: How Does Couch Surfing Fit? Am J Community Psychol, 60(1-2), 17-24. doi:10.1002/ajcp.12156

Deleu, H., Schrooten, M., & Hermans, K. (2021). Hidden Homelessness: A Scoping Review and Avenues for Further Inquiry. Social Policy and Society, 1-17. doi:10.1017/S1474746421000476

Department for Levelling Up, H. a. C. (2022). Overcrowding in South Asian households: a qualitative report. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overcrowding-in-south-asian-households-a-qualitative-report/overcrowding-in-south-asian-households-a-qualitative-report

Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities. (2023). Rough sleeping snapshot in England: autumn 2022. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2022/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2022

Drummond, A. (2007). Keep on Moving, Don't Stop Now: Anti-trespass Laws on the Island of Ireland. In Travellers, Gypsies, Roma: The Demonisation of Difference: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Ecker, J. (2016). Queer, young, and homeless: A review of the literature. Child & Youth Services, 37(4), 325-361. doi:10.1080/0145935X.2016.1151781

Ecker, J., Aubry, T., & Sylvestre, J. (2019). A Review of the Literature on LGBTQ Adults Who Experience Homelessness. Journal of Homosexuality, 66(3), 297-323. doi:10.1080/00918369.2017.1413277

Engender. (2020a). Gender, housing and homelessness: a literature review. Retrieved from https://www.engender.org.uk/content/publications/GENDER-HOUSING-AND-HOMELESSNESS---A-LITERATURE-REVIEW.pdf

Engender. (2020b). A woman's place: gender, housing and homelessness in Scotland. Retrieved from https://www.engender.org.uk/content/publications/A-WOMANS-PLACE---GENDER-HOUSING-AND-HOMELESSNESS-IN-SCOTLAND.pdf

Fiedler, R., Schuurman, N., & Hyndman, J. (2006). Hidden homelessness: An indicator-based approach for examining the geographies of recent immigrants at-risk of homelessness in Greater Vancouver. Cities, 23(3), 205-216. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2006.03.004

Finney, N. (2022). Ethnic inequalities and homelessness in the UK. Retrieved from https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/63e6476b4d417106be76eae5_CHI.Ethnic.Inequalities.homelessness.pdf

Flatau, P., Smith, J., Carson, G., & et al. (2015). The housing and homelessness journeys of refugees in Australia: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

Gausvik, C. A. (2015). "I spent my whole life just walking around, trying to find a place to sleep" : describing the experience of youth hidden homelessness.

Gleason, K. D., Dube, M., Bernier, E., & Martin, J. (2022). Using geographic information systems to assess community-level vulnerability to housing insecurity in rural areas. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(4), 1993-2012. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22589

Gray, T., Rodriguez-Guzman, G., Argodale, S., & Bartholdy, N. (2021). Evidence Notes: 04 Immigration status. Retrieved from https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/61b70d48eb7e8a4f9d8ad54d_CHI.WWC.EvidenceNotes.Immigration.pdf

Haan, M. (2011). Does Immigrant Residential Crowding Reflect Hidden Homelessness? Can Stud Popul, 38. doi:10.25336/P6331B

Hall, B. (2017). Enumeration of the Homeless Population in Rural Communities.

Hermans, K., Dyb, E., Knutagard, M., Novak-Zezula, S., & Trummer, U. (2020). Migration and Homelessness: Measuring the Intersections. European Journal of Homelessness, 14(3).

Husbands, J. (2018). Topic briefing: Hidden homelessness. Retrieved from Scotland: https://assets.ctfassets.net/6sqqfrl11sfj/7aAjdbDsta3LCN5UXTcwc0/56db74487a8998bf0b84ce175a9ecbbf/Hidden_Homelessness.pdf

Johnson, G., Ribar, D. C., & Zhu, A. (2017). Women's Homelessness: International Evidence on Causes, Consequences, Coping and Policies. Retrieved from https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/sandbox/working-paper-search-archive/search/result?paper=2285711

Kauppi, C., Pallard, H., Hankard, M., FitzMaurice, K., Montgomery, P., Elphick, R., . . . Waegemakers Schiff, J. (2020). Homelessness Enumeration in the Cochrane District: Evaluation and Comparison of Methodologies. Retrieved from https://www.homelesshub.ca/resource/homelessness-enumeration-cochrane-district-evaluation-and-comparison-methodologies

Kissoon, P. (2010). From Persecution to Destitution: A Snapshot of Asylum Seekers' Housing and Settlement Experiences in Canada and the United Kingdom. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 8(1), 4-31. doi:10.1080/15562940903575020

Knopf-Amelung, S. (2013). Rural Homelessness: Identifying and Understanding the "Hidden Homeless". Retrieved from https://nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/InFocus_June2013.pdf

Lohmann, H. (2021). Hidden homelessness in Germany: Gathering evidence on couch surfing in telephone surveys. European Journal of Homelessness, 15(1), 13-34. Retrieved from https://www.feantsaresearch.org/public/user/Observatory/2020/EJH/EJH_15-1_A2_v02.pdf

Morgan-Williams, S. (2020). Traveller Homelessness in the South West. Retrieved from http://tvgcork.ie/sites/default/files/downLoadableResources/RTAWG-Conference-Launch-Traveller-Homelessness-in-the-South-West-180122_0.pdf

Netto, G. (2006). Vulnerability to Homelessness, Use of Services and Homelessness Prevention in Black and Minority Ethnic Communities. Housing Studies, 21, 581 - 601.

Netto, G., Fancy, C., Pawson, H., Lomax, D., Singh, S., & Powers, S. (2004). Black and Minority Ethnic Communities and Homelessness in Scotland.

Norman-Major, K. (2018). Thinking Outside the Box: Using Multisector Approaches to Address the Wicked Problem of Homelessness Among LGBTQ Youth. Public Integrity, 20(6), 546-557. doi:10.1080/10999922.2017.1325999

Norris, M., & Quilty, A. (2021). Unreal, unsheltered, unseen, unrecorded: The multiple invisibilities of LGBTQI+ homeless youth. Critical Social Policy, 41(3), 468-490. doi:10.1177/0261018320953328

Office of National Statistics. (2023). "Hidden" homelessness in the UK: evidence review. Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/hiddenhomelessnessintheukevidencereview/2023-03-29

Oxford University Migration Observatory. (2020). Between a rock and a hard place: the COVID-19 crisis and migrants with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) [Press release]. Retrieved from https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/commentaries/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place-the-covid-19-crisis-and-migrants-with-no-recourse-to-public-funds-nrpf/

Oxford University Migration Observatory. (2022). Asylum and refugee resettlement in the UK [Press release]. Retrieved from https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migration-to-the-uk-asylum/

Palmer, G. (2004). The numbers of hidden homeless and other people in housing need. Retrieved from https://www.npi.org.uk/files/1413/7544/6603/homelessness_gla.pdf

Petry, L., Hill, C., Milburn, N., & Rice, E. (2022). Who Is Couch-Surfing and Who Is on the Streets? Disparities Among Racial and Sexual Minority Youth in Experiences of Homelessness. J Adolesc Health, 70(5), 743-750. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.10.039

Pleace, N. (2016). Exclusion by Definition: The Under-representation of Women in European Homelessness Statistics. In P. Mayock & J. Bretherton (Eds.), Women's Homelessness in Europe (pp. 105-126). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Quilgars, D., Johnsen, S., & Pleace, N. (2008). Youth Homelessness in the UK: a Decade of Progress? Retrieved from https://pure.hw.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/481249/JRF_Youth_Homelessness_FinalReport.pdf

Rabinovitch, H. (2015). Snapshot of an Object in Motion: Quantifying Homelessness. (Masters of Public Policy). Simon Fraser University, Canada. Retrieved from https://summit.sfu.ca/item/15297

Reeve, K. (2018). Women and homelessness: putting gender back on the agenda. People, Place and Policy Online, 11, 165-174. doi:10.3351/ppp.2017.8845235448

Richard, L., Hwang, S. W., Forchuk, C., Nisenbaum, R., Clemens, K., Wiens, K., . . . Shariff, S. Z. (2019). Validation study of health administrative data algorithms to identify individuals experiencing homelessness and estimate population prevalence of homelessness in Ontario, Canada. BMJ Open, 9(10), e030221. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030221

Robinson, D. (2002). Estimating Homelessness in Rural Areas. A Step-by-step Guide and Sourcebook of Information and Ideas. Retrieved from https://shura.shu.ac.uk/27113/1/estimating-homelessness-rural-areas.pdf

Robinson, D. (2004). Rough sleeping in rural England: challenging a problem denied. Policy & Politics, 32(4), 471-486.

Robinson, D., & Coward, S. (2003). Hidden homelessness: your place, not mine. Retrieved from UK: https://www.shu.ac.uk/centre-regional-economic-social-research/publications/hidden-homelessness-your-place-not-mine

Robinson, D., Reeve, K., & Casey, R. (2007). The housing pathways of new immigrants. Retrieved from https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/housing-pathways-new-immigrants

Roncarati, J. S., Byrne, T. H., & McInnes, D. K. (2021). Invited Commentary: Data Sources for Estimating Numbers of People Experiencing Homelessness in the United States—Strengths and Limitations. American Journal of Epidemiology, 190(11), 2437-2440. doi:10.1093/aje/kwab104

Sanders, M., Whelan, E., Murcia, A., & Jones, L. (2022). Sexuality, gender identity and homelessness. Retrieved from UK: https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/63317fdfd1d200585b60b1a3_CHI.Sexuality-gender%20identity%20and%20homelessness%20policy%20paper.pdf

Schneider, M., Brisson, D., & Burnes, D. W. (2016). Do We Really Know how Many Are Homeless?: An Analysis of the Point-In-Time Homelessness Count. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 97, 321 - 329.

Scott, S., & McManus, S. (2016). Hidden hurt: Violence, abuse and disadvantage in the lives of women. Retrieved from https://www.agendaalliance.org/documents/124/Hidden-Hurt-Full-Report.pdf

Shankley, W., & Finney, N. (2020). Ethnic minorities and housing in Britain. In Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK. State of the Nation (1st ed., pp. 149-166). UK: Policy Press.

Smith, A. (2015). Can We Compare Homelessness Across the Atlantic? A Comparative Study of Methods for Measuring Homelessness in North America and Europe1. European Journal of Homelessness, 9(2), 233-257. Retrieved from https://www.feantsa.org/download/smithejh2-2015article10329781340955549685.pdf

Smith, J. (2013). Methodological problems of sampling young homeless people in four European societies with different levels of service provision and definitions of homelessness. Housing, Care and Support, 16(2), 64-75. doi:10.1108/HCS-03-2013-0005

Stroud, D., & Pickett, H. (2017). The Hidden Homeless: Addressing the Obstacles of the Rural Homeless in Rockbridge County, Virginia. Retrieved from https://dspace.wlu.edu/bitstream/handle/11021/33875/WLURG38_Stroud_POV_2017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

The Scottish Government. (2010). Domestic abuse, housing and homelessness in Scotland: an evidence review. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2010/11/domestic-abuse-housing-homelessness-scotland-evidence-review/documents/0106198-pdf/0106198-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/0106198.pdf

The Scottish Government. (2015). Census 2011 equality results: analysis, part two. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2015/03/analysis-equality-results-2011-census-part-2/documents/00476602-pdf/00476602-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00476602.pdf

The Scottish Government. (2018). Health and homelessness in Scotland: research. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-homelessness-scotland/documents/

The Scottish Government. (2020). Gypsy/Travellers - accommodation needs: evidence review. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2020/10/evidence-review-accommodation-needs-gypsy-travellers-scotland/documents/evidence-review-accommodation-needs-gypsy-travellers-scotland/evidence-review-accommodation-needs-gypsy-travellers-scotland/govscot%3Adocument/evidence-review-accommodation-needs-gypsy-travellers-scotland.pdf

The Scottish Government. (2021). Housing Needs of Minority Ethnic Groups: An evidence review. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2021/01/housing-needs-minority-ethnic-groups-evidence-review2/documents/housing-needs-minority-ethnic-groups-evidence-review/housing-needs-minority-ethnic-groups-evidence-review/govscot%3Adocument/housing-needs-minority-ethnic-groups-evidence-review.pdf

The Scottish Government. (2022a). Equalities tables to Homelessness in Scotland: 2021/22 (Updated 27-10-22).

The Scottish Government. (2022b). Homelessness in Scotland: 2021/2022. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/publications/homelessness-scotland-2021-22/documents/

The Scottish Government. (2022c). Homelessness in Scotland: update to 30 September 2022. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/publications/homelessness-in-scotland-update-to-30-september-2022/documents/

Trawver, K. R., & Aguiniga, D. M. (2016). Unsheltered Homeless Youth Point-in-Time Count and Outreach: Opportunities for University–Community Collaboration (Practice Note). Families in Society, 97(3), 259-264. doi:10.1606/1044-3894.2016.97.30

Watts, B., Bramley, G., Fitzpatrick, S., Pawson, H., & Young, G. (2021). The homelessness monitor: Scotland 2021. Retrieved from https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/245880/the-homelessness-monitor-scotland-2021.pdf

Weare, C. (2019). Counting the Homeless: Improving Knowledge of the Unsheltered Homeless Population. Retrieved from https://socialinnovation.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Christopher-Weare-Counting-the-Homeless.pdf

Williams, M. (2010). Can We Measure Homelessness? A Critical Evaluation of 'Capture-Recapture'. Methodological Innovations Online, 5, 49.41-59. doi:10.4256/mio.2010.0018

Wooden, M., Bevitt, A., Chigavazira, A., Greer, N., Johnson, G., Killackey, E., . . . Watson, N. (2012). Introducing 'Journeys Home'. Australian Economic Review, 45(3), 368-378. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8462.2012.00690.x

Young, L., & Hodges, K. (2022). Making women count - Designing and conducting a rough sleeping census for women in London. Retrieved from https://www.womancentre.co.uk/sites/default/files/2023-03/Making-Women-Count.pdf

Contact

Email: socialresearch@gov.scot

Back to top