Residential Mobility of a Cohort of Homeless People in Times of Crisis: COVID-19 Pandemic in an European Metropolis

Most vulnerable individuals are particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study takes place in a large city in France. The aim of this study is to describe the mobility of the homeless population at the begin-ning of the health crisis and to analyze its impact in terms of COVID-19 prevalence. From June to August 2020 and September to December 2020, 1272 homeless people were invited to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and virus in and completed questionnaires. Our data show that homeless populations are sociologically dif-ferent depending on where they live. We show that people living on the street were most likely to be relocated to emergency shelters than other inhabitants. Some neighborhoods are points of attraction for homeless peo-ple in the city while others emptied during the health crisis, which had consequences for virus circulation. People with a greater number of different dwellings reported became more infected. This first study of the mo-bility and epidemiology of homeless people in time of pandemic provides unique information about mobility mapping, sociological factors of this mobility, mobility at different scales and epidemiological consequences. We suggest that homeless policies need to be radically transformed since actual model exposes people to infection in emergency.

Neighborhood Distribution of Unsheltered Homelessness and its Temporal Changes: Evidence from Los Angeles

Using the 2016–2020 point-in-time homeless count data, this study investigates neighborhood characteristics associated with the levels of and changes in unsheltered homeless population density in Los Angeles. The results show that unsheltered homeless people in the study area are heavily concentrated in and around the city center, and in neighborhoods with greater access to shelters and lower socioeconomic status. Notably, neighborhoods closer to the city center experienced a relatively large increase in unsheltered homelessness during the study period, implying a persistent spatial concentration of unsheltered homelessness. The results consistently indicate that residential land share, Hispanic resident share, and the number of bridges in the baseline year are significant predictors of relative changes in unsheltered homelessness in subsequent years, whereas access to shelters and poverty rates are not. This study’s findings provide several important policy implications that could potentially help prevent and mitigate unsheltered homelessness.

Race, homelessness and inner-city policy in 1980s Britain

This article utilizes an organizational history of the Birmingham-based Handsworth Single Homeless Action Group (HSHAG) to explore black youth homelessness and inner-city policy in 1980s Britain. It draws upon under-used charity archives to intervene in recent debates, considering the part played by the voluntary sector within the Thatcher administrations’ inner-city policies and what targeted funding of this kind reveals about the remaking of the welfare state in these years. First, it introduces HSHAG, setting out the context of inner-city funding programmes, before questioning how sustainable this might have been for voluntary organizations engaged in supporting the homeless population. Secondly, it examines the effects of housing privatization and unemployment on HSHAG's attempts to advise homeless black individuals and assert their rights as citizens to state support. Together, it exposes the role of the voluntary sector in welfare state restructuring and considers how this change made the task of homelessness organizations Herculean.

Student Homelessness: Sheltering Our Future: An Adaptable Approach to Underutilised City Spaces

<p>The increasing housing demands from population growth creates a persistent housing shortage and unaffordability in our cities. Students are one demographic that is dramatically affected as they move closer to their education provider for study. The student influx at the start of the semester creates a large demand in the already inadequate housing market. Students with a limited budget have reduced accommodation options and this consequently drives many into a state of homelessness. A study from University of Otago measures that over a quarter of New Zealand’s homeless population are students (Amore, 2016). This considerable number of students are living in cars, tents, couch-surfing and sleeping rough for weeks during their studies. The desperate situation impinges on the student’s health and well-being and thus their academic performance. In this context, the scope of this research focuses on the requirements of homeless tertiary students in the urban setting. Their vulnerability, insecurity and distress are explored to provide direction to solutions that will alleviate the existing problems of their insufficient living environments. As proximity to the education providers and amenities are key factors, this thesis examines underutilised and leftover spaces within the city as opportunities for inhabitation, and to create efficient use of urban space. Currently, there are successful examples of activating overlooked laneways into vibrant spaces. However, these transformations rely on the activities in the lane and the interventions are largely landscaping and installations. By investigating the successful regeneration of previously undesirable and neglected spaces through architectural re-imagination, this thesis identify laneways to be a potential site to the urgent need for shelters. The architectural experiments and design development are informed by the combination of site challenges and programme to form an overall design-led research. The thesis tests how temporary modular design has a significant role in the design of economic and adaptable solutions for the increasing issue of homelessness. This establishes that through a critical design, we may shelter those in desperate need within the urban context. The architecture provides a safe environment that is empathetic to its users and the larger urban scale while also creating a statement and awareness to homelessness. The thesis concludes with the design framework for a single test site and assesses its suitability for future application to other leftover spaces in the city.</p>

Student Homelessness: Sheltering Our Future: An Adaptable Approach to Underutilised City Spaces

<p>The increasing housing demands from population growth creates a persistent housing shortage and unaffordability in our cities. Students are one demographic that is dramatically affected as they move closer to their education provider for study. The student influx at the start of the semester creates a large demand in the already inadequate housing market. Students with a limited budget have reduced accommodation options and this consequently drives many into a state of homelessness. A study from University of Otago measures that over a quarter of New Zealand’s homeless population are students (Amore, 2016). This considerable number of students are living in cars, tents, couch-surfing and sleeping rough for weeks during their studies. The desperate situation impinges on the student’s health and well-being and thus their academic performance. In this context, the scope of this research focuses on the requirements of homeless tertiary students in the urban setting. Their vulnerability, insecurity and distress are explored to provide direction to solutions that will alleviate the existing problems of their insufficient living environments. As proximity to the education providers and amenities are key factors, this thesis examines underutilised and leftover spaces within the city as opportunities for inhabitation, and to create efficient use of urban space. Currently, there are successful examples of activating overlooked laneways into vibrant spaces. However, these transformations rely on the activities in the lane and the interventions are largely landscaping and installations. By investigating the successful regeneration of previously undesirable and neglected spaces through architectural re-imagination, this thesis identify laneways to be a potential site to the urgent need for shelters. The architectural experiments and design development are informed by the combination of site challenges and programme to form an overall design-led research. The thesis tests how temporary modular design has a significant role in the design of economic and adaptable solutions for the increasing issue of homelessness. This establishes that through a critical design, we may shelter those in desperate need within the urban context. The architecture provides a safe environment that is empathetic to its users and the larger urban scale while also creating a statement and awareness to homelessness. The thesis concludes with the design framework for a single test site and assesses its suitability for future application to other leftover spaces in the city.</p>

STUDENT HOMELESSNESS : SHELTERING OUR FUTURE An Adaptable Approach to Underutilised City Spaces

<p>The increasing housing demands from population growth creates a persistent housing shortage and unaffordability in our cities. Students are one demographic that is dramatically affected as they move closer to their education provider for study. The student influx at the start of the semester creates a large demand in the already inadequate housing market. Students with a limited budget have reduced accommodation options and this consequently drives many into a state of homelessness. A study from University of Otago measures that over a quarter of New Zealand’s homeless population are students (Amore, 2016). This considerable number of students are living in cars, tents, couch-surfing and sleeping rough for weeks during their studies. The desperate situation impinges on the student’s health and well-being and thus their academic performance. In this context, the scope of this research focuses on the requirements of homeless tertiary students in the urban setting. Their vulnerability, insecurity and distress are explored to provide direction to solutions that will alleviate the existing problems of their insufficient living environments. As proximity to the education providers and amenities are key factors, this thesis examines underutilised and leftover spaces within the city as opportunities for inhabitation, and to create efficient use of urban space. Currently, there are successful examples of activating overlooked laneways into vibrant spaces. However, these transformations rely on the activities in the lane and the interventions are largely landscaping and installations. By investigating the successful regeneration of previously undesirable and neglected spaces through architectural re-imagination, this thesis identify laneways to be a potential site to the urgent need for shelters. The architectural experiments and design development are informed by the combination of site challenges and programme to form an overall design-led research. The thesis tests how temporary modular design has a significant role in the design of economic and adaptable solutions for the increasing issue of homelessness. This establishes that through a critical design, we may shelter those in desperate need within the urban context. The architecture provides a safe environment that is empathetic to its users and the larger urban scale while also creating a statement and awareness to homelessness. The thesis concludes with the design framework for a single test site and assesses its suitability for future application to other leftover spaces in the city.</p>

population level study of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence amongst people experiencing homelessness in Wales, UK

IntroductionPrior research into the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst people experiencing homelessness (PEH) largely relates to people in communal forms of temporary accommodation in contexts where this type of accommodation remained a major part of the response to homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 amongst PEH more broadly, and in a policy and practice context that favoured self-contained accommodation, such as Wales, UK. ObjectiveDescribe the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 amongst PEH in Wales, UK, using routinely collected administrative data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank. MethodsRoutinely collected data were used to identify PEH in Wales between 1st March 2020 and 1st March 2021. Using SARS-CoV-2 pathology testing data, prevalence rates were generated for PEH and three comparator groups: (1) the not-homeless population; (2) a cohort `exact matched' for age, sex, local authority and area deprivation; and (3) a matched comparison group created using these same variables and Propensity Score Matching (PSM). Three logistic regressions were run on samples containing each of the comparator groups to explore the effect of experiencing homelessness on testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. ResultsThe prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst PEH was 5.0%, compared to the not-homeless population at 5.6%. For the exact matched and PSM match comparator groups, prevalence was 6.9% and 6.7%, respectively. Logistic regression found that SARS-CoV-2 infection was 0.9 times less likely amongst PEH compared to people not experiencing homelessness from the general population. The odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection for PEH was 0.75 and 0.73 where the `not-homeless' comparators were from the exact match and PSM samples, respectively. ConclusionOur analysis revealed that a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 amongst PEH in Wales was lower than the general population. A policy response to homelessness that moved away from communal accommodation may be partly responsible for the reduced SAR-CoV-2 infection amongst PEH.

Residence registration to cope with homelessness: evidence from a qualitative research study in Milan

Homeless people are one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in developed countries, and their homelessness situation often persists over the long term. However, so far, no studies have explained the specific role played by residence registration as it relates to deprivation amongst the homeless population and its contribution to improving the lives of homeless people. This paper investigates the paths homeless people in Milan use to access residence registration, via a case study in the city of Milan. Home to Italy’s largest homeless population, the city of Milan has implemented the innovative ResidenzaMi project to improve access to residence registration for homeless people. The study considers official statistics and individual interviews with service providers involved in the registration process. It further investigates the main factors impeding the registration process and outlines the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from our study indicate that a residence certificate plays a critical role in helping homeless people exercise their rights and access the services they need to escape homelessness. Our findings suggest the importance of a holistic, multidimensional approach to ensure access to residence registration for homeless persons.

Using Point-in-Time Homeless Counts to Monitor Mortality Trends Among People Experiencing Homelessness in Los Angeles County, California, 2015‒2019

Objectives. To report trends in mortality rates, mortality rate ratios (MRRs), and causes of death among people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in Los Angeles County, California, by using annual point-in-time homeless counts and to compare findings to published longitudinal cohort studies of homeless mortality. Methods. We enumerated homeless deaths and determined causes by using 2015–2019 medical examiner‒coroner data matched to death certificate data. We estimated midyear homeless population denominators by averaging consecutive January point-in-time homeless counts. We used annual demographic surveys of PEH to estimate age- and gender-adjusted MRRs. We identified comparison studies through a literature review. Results. Mortality rates increased from 2015 to 2019. Drug overdose was the leading cause of death. Mortality was higher among White than among Black and Latino PEH. Compared with the general population, MRRs ranged from 2.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.7, 3.0) for all causes to 35.1 (95% CI = 31.9, 38.4) for drug overdose. Crude mortality rates and all-cause MRRs from comparison cohort studies were similar to those in the current study. Conclusions. These methods can be adapted by other urban jurisdictions seeking to better understand and reduce mortality in their homeless populations. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(12):2212–2222. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306502 )