An Overview on homelessness among BME communities

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• An Overview on homelessness among BME communities
• LINKING SERVICES FOR BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC
  (BME)
• HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS (LSP)
• RACE ON THE AGENDA
• Eshe Petinaud-Allen
• eshe_at_rota.org.uk

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Presentation overview

• Who are we?
• The project Linking services for BME homeless
  individuals.
• Challenges Best practice
• Conclusions recommendations.

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RACE ON THE AGENDA

• ROTA is a social policy think tank devoted to
  issues that affect Black and minority ethnic
  (BME) communities in London.
• Key policy priorities are
• Crime Antisocial Behaviour.
• Equalities Human Rights.
• Community Cohesion.
• Education, Health Social Services.
• Social Inclusion Homelessness.
• Regional Governance.

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Linking Services for Black minority ethnic
homeless individuals Project (LSP)

• TO TEST referral routes between BME and homeless
  provision over a period of a year.
• TO MAP BME training provision for BME homeless
  individuals.
• TO RAISE AWARENESS of mainstream and BME
  organisations of the needs of BME homeless
  individuals seeking routes out of inactivity and
  worklessness.
• TO CREATE UNDERSTANDING of the challenges faced
  and the work produced by the BME and homeless
  sectors.
• TO PROVIDE SUPPORT MENTORING to 15 BME
  homeless individuals (e.g. training on service
  users participation techniques, information on
  their rights and possible routes out of
  homelessness and worklessness).
• BEST PRACTISE SHARING through a best practice
  toolkit in partnership with mainstream and BME
  homeless service provides and a directory of BME
  homeless Education Advice and Training services.

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Challenges

• Inadequate systems to assess and record BME
  disadvantages. The challenge is how to make the
  system fit the people.
• Hidden homelessness and less about street
  homelessness (friends and relatives)
• Marginalisation of these communities
  (discrimination, poverty etc) influences chances
  of becoming homeless
• In a study of applicants to s Black housing
  advice centre, 85 had never used a night
  shelter. (Hutson Liddiard, 1994)

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Best practice findings so far

• Ideal services as seen by the service user (BME
  homeless individuals) interviews/
  questionnaires focus groups
• - Organisations that provide verbal explanations
  of benefit rights and how to claim them.
• - Accurate, timely and tailored information to
  queries not vague problems.
• - User-friendly, accessible (language) info (e.g.
  on housing benefits).
• - Multiple disadvantages being addressed by one
  key worker.
• - Addressing their fears (e.g. working in
  informal and unofficial employment sector
  disadvantages and dangers).
• - Organisations that provide employment cultural
  orientation (cultural sensitive).

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Conclusions

• Scope for partnership BME and Homeless sectors.
• Considerable support for this from within the
  two sectors themselves.
• Homeless agencies generally have a wider variety
  of referral sources than BME organisations.
• Homeless Agencies are less likely to report
  formal links with BME organisations than BME
  organisations were to Homeless Agencies
• No specific studies have been conducted that
  examine the links between the BME and Homeless
  sectors.
• LSP to establish links between BME
  organisations and Homeless agencies that can be
  organised under 4 broad headings information
  sharing activities partnership development
  activities events and resource provision and
  staff development activities.
• Findings and conclusions to be reported in June
  2006.

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• Race on the Agenda (ROTA)
• Budapest October 2006
• Unit 101, Cremer Business Centre 37 Cremer
  Street , London E2 8HD   020 7729 1310, 020
  7739 6712 (fax), www.rota.org.uk