Welfare Reform on the Web (June 2000): Homelessness - UK

POLICY AND SERVICE RESPONSES TO ROUGH SLEEPING AMONG OLDER PEOPLE

M. Crane and A. M. Warnes

Journal of Social Policy, vol. 29, 2000, p. 21-36

The 1990s Rough Sleepers Initiative and related programmes promoted a social care market of not-for-profit organisations that complete for increased but short term funds to provide services, and the New Labour government is likely to build upon these changes and increase funds. Low tolerance towards the social exclusion involved in homelessness is promised, but unerringly interpreted as exclusion from work. Rough sleeping is dubbed as anti-social and coercive approaches to achieve a two-thirds reduction are on the cards.