London’s Homelessness Sector - Results of the State of the Sector Survey

Across London there are over 160 voluntary organisations providing services to single homeless people. They provide a diverse range of services including direct access hostels, supported housing, day centres, floating support services, advice centres and outreach teams. These organisations range in size from the very small, reliant on the goodwill of charitable supporters and volunteers to carry out their vital work to large and complex organisations that are major players in the social welfare sector, responsible for millions of pounds of public spending and employing hundreds of professional staff. Although there are a number of sources of information about the homelessness sector in London, these sources are diverse and focused mainly on guiding homeless people to access appropriate services or monitoring public expenditure. The aim of this research project was to conduct a study of homelessness service providers in London. This work was funded by the London Housing Foundation to help compile a picture of the state of the homelessness sector in London. The objective of the research was to establish a picture of the service providers in London, their services, finances, staffing and clients, beyond that which is already available. The principal piece of work carried out under this research was a survey of all service provider organisations in London. This report highlights the main findings of this survey.

Publication Date: 
2008