Transcript 'The resettlement of older homeless people into independent housing'

The resettlement of older homeless
people into independent housing
Maureen Crane, Sarah Coward and Tony Warnes
University of Sheffield
Presentation to UK Coalition on Older Homelessness, October 2009
Aims of the presentation
To present the outcomes of the resettlement of older
homeless people from hostels into independent
accommodation. The presentation will describe:
 The characteristics of the study respondents
 The resettlement accommodation and the move
 How they managed during the first six months
 Their settledness and housing outcomes
Aims of
To produce longitudinal information about: (a) the
experiences of homeless people who are resettled, and (b)
the factors that influence the outcomes.
To assess the relative contributions to settledness, tenancy
sustainment and achieved independence of:
* the resettled person’s characteristics
* the resettlement preparation and follow-up support
* the condition and amenities of the accommodation
* events and experiences post-resettlement
Funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council
Sample
 400 single homeless people aged 16+ years in two clusters:
London, and Nottinghamshire / Yorkshire.
 Resettled into independent accommodation by six homelessness
sector organisations. Broadly representative of those resettled
by the organisations in 2006.
 56 respondents were aged 50+ years.
 Information collected includes: accommodation histories;
education, training and employment; personal problems; income
and expenditure; use of time; family and social networks; help
and support before and after moving.
Partner organisations
Methods of collecting data
 Semi-structured interviews conducted with respondents
immediately before being resettled, and after 6 and 18 months.
Interviews from June 2007 to November 2009.
 Once resettled, most interviews were conducted in respondents’
homes; a few in cafes, pubs or other places. Respondents given
£10 for baseline interview and £15 for subsequent interviews – an
incentive to encourage them to keep in contact.
 Key-worker completed questionnaire at baseline.
 Tracking exercise at 12 months to find out whereabouts. Contact
details collected for relatives, friends, and services used – very
important element of keeping in touch.
Older people
in FOR-HOME
The older respondents
38 were resettled by the London organisations; 18 by the Notts /
Yorks organisations.
At time of resettlement, 41 respondents were aged 50-59 years,
and 15 aged 60+ years; oldest was aged 84.
51 were men; only 5 women (and all were aged 50-59 years).
Most (82%) were White British / Irish.
43% were never married, 5% widowed and the rest separated /
divorced.
24% aged 50-59 and 13% aged 60+ had been homeless before
(compared to 52% aged 25-49 years).
Common reasons for homelessness
Reasons
Age 50-59
Age 60+
All ages
Percentages
Financial problems
32
33
19
Redundancy, retirement, other work
problems
27
27
12
Housing tenure / landlord problems
29
20
20
Marital / partner breakdown
24
13
21
Death spouse / partner
2
20
2
Death parents
5
20
2
Alcohol problems
20
20
13
Mental health problems
22
0
9
Number of months homeless to time resettled (most
recent episode)
45
40
Up to 12
13-60
61-120
121+
Percentage of respondents
37
33
32
30
22
20
15
10
7
0
Aged 50-59
Aged 60+
Number of months in last hostel before
being resettled
50
Up to 6
>6-12
>12-24
>24
Percentage of respondents
40
40
37
32
30
27
20
20
17
15
13
10
0
Aged 50-59
Aged 60+
Mental health and substance misuse problems
during five years before being resettled
Percentage of respondents
80
63
60
63
58
57
40
39
40
33
21
20
0
0
50-59
60+
All ages
Age groups (years)
Mental health
Alcohol
Drugs
Help with mental health problems before being
resettled (only those with problems)
90
Percentage of respondents
77
75
69
60
55
46
45
30
15
0
50+ years
Any treatment
All ages
From mental health services
Help with alcohol problems before being resettled (only
those with problems)
75
Percentage of respondents
66
60
45
30
43
42
27
15
0
50+ years
All ages
Any treatment
From alcohol services
Previous experience of independent living
 Only 33% of those aged 50+ had lived alone for more than 5
years. 40% aged 60+ had never lived alone.
 Most said they had had a lot of experience of cooking and
keeping a home clean.
 Only 61% aged 50-59 and 47% aged 60+ had had a lot of
experience of paying utility bills.
 27% aged 60+ had no experience of paying utility bills – they had
always lived with their parents, or in lodgings with landladies or
in tied accommodation.
Advice and training from hostel staff on
managing a home
Advice and training
Age 50-59
Received
Age 60+
All ages
Percentages
… cooking / preparing meals
32
47
28
… paying bills
41
53
40
… budgeting / managing money
37
60
38
… cooking / preparing meals
5
7
5
… paying bills
10
7
12
… budgeting / managing money
7
0
10
Would have liked but did not get
The resettlement
accommodation
and the move
Social Housing, Lenton, Nottingham
The resettlement accommodation
Tenure
17-24 years
25-49 years
50-59 years
60+ years
Percentages
Local authority
63
42
49
40
Housing association
26
41
41
60
Private-rented
11
17
10
0
Sample size
97
247
41
15
• 13 of the 15 aged 60+ and 4 aged 50-59 years moved to
sheltered accommodation with a warden.
Respondents’ concerns about moving
Concerns
Age 50-59
Age 60+
All ages
Percentages
Moving quickly / arranging the
move / getting furniture
24
27
23
… managing finances / paying bills
26
7
25
… isolation and loneliness
30
27
19
… occupying time
13
13
12
… coping at home
17
13
9
Possible problems after moving
Readiness of the accommodation at time of
moving
Many older people moved into accommodation that
lacked basic furniture and appliances
 51% no bed
 67% no cooker
 65% no fridge
 61% no armchair / sofa
 49% lacked carpets / floor covering
The first six months
Problems with the condition of the
accommodation at six months
Common problems
50-59 years
60+ years
All ages
Percentages
Any problem
56
14
71
… dampness / mould
13
0
12
… heating / boiler
26
7
31
… leaks / flooding
3
7
10
Problems with:
 Those who moved to sheltered accommodation less likely to report
problems with the condition of the accommodation; presumably
maintenance and repairs are dealt with by the warden.
Furniture / furnishings still missing after six
months (those aged 50+)
 4% no bed
 14% no cooker
 4% no fridge
 4% no armchair / sofa
 24% lacked carpets / floor covering
Managing household tasks and finances
 82% aged 50-59 years had a cooked meal most days, and cooked
their own food.
 Only 64% aged 60+ cooked their own food. Others ate in cafes,
pubs or went to homelessness day centres for food. 15% only
had a cooked meal once or twice a week.
 26% of older respondents reported problems managing
household tasks - due to lack of cooking facilities or a washing
machine, or poor motivation.
 17% of older respondents reported ‘frequent’ problems with
budgeting and managing money, and 26% ‘occasional’ problems.
Rent and rent arrears
Most older respondents claimed Housing Benefit towards their
rent. 56% aged 50-59 and 15% aged 60+ did not pay anything
towards the rent.
During the first 6 months, 40% had rent arrears. When
interviewed at six months, 15% still had rent arrears. No
difference between those aged in their fifties and those aged
60+.
During the first 6 months, 11% had been threatened with
eviction, mostly for rent arrears.
Early arrears often due to HB problems; continued arrears to
personal factors.
Debts (%)
Debts
Aged 50-59
Aged 60+
Baseline
6 months
Baseline
6 months
Had debts
34
41
27
36
… less than £500
12
19
13
7
… more than £1,000
14
14
7
7
Has debts: amount
unknown
2
5
0
21
…
Support and social
contacts
Contact with family and friends
Contact
17-24 yrs
25-49 yrs
50-59 yrs
60+ yrs
In contact with relatives %
95
84
56
36
Number of relatives in
contact at least monthly
5.1
3.3
1.3
1.6
0
6
18
21
NO contact with family or
friends %
 Strong age relationship in social contacts
Socialises with neighbours
60
Percentage who socialise
50
40
26
23
23
16-24
25-49
20
0
50-59
Age groups (years)
60+
Tenancy support during first six months
Support
Aged 50-59
Aged 60+
Percentages
Had support from tenancy support worker
68
33
Had warden / no tenancy support worker
7
53
No tenancy support worker or warden
20
7
Saw tenancy support worker at least weekly
in first month
39
20
…
Settledness and
housing outcomes
Pleased with the accommodation (6 months)
100%
80%
60%
32
86
40%
20%
13
17
0
70
74
25-49
50-59
49
0%
17-24
60+
Age groups (years)
Definitely
Think so
Don't think so
Definitely not
Settled in the accommodation (6 months)
100%
80%
60%
0
73
79
50-59
60+
26
30
40%
20%
11
41
51
0%
17-24
25-49
Age groups (years)
Definitely
Think so
Don't think so
Definitely not
Thought about giving up tenancy in first
six months
Percentage of respondents
60
50
48
40
33
30
26
20
17
10
0
17-24
25-49
50-59
Age groups (years)
60+
Worried about how things are going
(at 6 months)
Percentage of respondents
80
69
60
42
37
40
23
21
20
8
0
50-59
Most of the time
60+
Sometimes
Not at all
Housing outcomes at 6 months
Outcome
50-59 years
60+ years
All ages
Percentages
In original accommodation
93
87
87
Moved to new tenancy
2
7
3
Evicted / abandoned
2
7
5
Died
2
0
1
Other
0
0
4
Tenancies ending and reasons
So far, the tenancies of 7 older respondents have ended through
evictions, abandonments and moves (11 still have to be interviewed
at 18 months).
 1 man - mental health problems exacerbated – admitted to
psychiatric hospital after a few weeks and then discharged to
residential care.
 3 men – alcohol problems. One tenancy ended after 2 weeks and
the man returned to a hostel. Another allowed drug users to stay
in his flat and he returned to a hostel. The third was evicted for
anti-social behaviour and is now homeless.
 2 men – evicted for rent arrears. Local Housing Allowance was
paid directly to one man who then did not pay the landlord. He
was evicted.
 One man moved to be nearer relatives.
Reflections and
conclusions
Title
Content
How independent after being rehoused?
 Most older respondents still in their original accommodation after
18 months. More likely to be settled than the younger
respondents.
 Many resettled in tenancies that were inadequately prepared. By
six months, most had basic furniture and household equipment.
Those in their fifties more likely to be experiencing problems with
repairs – no warden to chase this up.
 Those in their fifties tended to be more independent than those
aged 60+. Several aged 60+ relied on day centres, cafes or pubs
for food.
 Financial problems were a major concern. Many struggled
financially and had rent arrears. The percentage with debts
increased during the first six months.
How supported after being rehoused?
 Sheltered accommodation proved suitable for several
respondents in their 60s – they had no contact with family and
friends, but settled in sheltered housing and socialised with other
tenants.
 Worrying number of evictions and tenancies ending among the
older respondents due to alcohol or mental health problems, or
poor household management skills. Mental health and alcohol
more of a problem among those in their fifties.
 Support for those aged 50-59 was mainly from tenancy support
workers, while for those aged 60+ it was from a warden. Tenancy
support workers provide specialist ‘one-to-one’ help for various
problems; wardens mainly deal with accommodation and rent
issues.
Thanks to …
All the respondents who have participated in this study over an
extraordinarily long time.
Ruby Fu, Camilla Mercer and Louise Joly who have helped
massively with running the project and coding the data.
The freelance interviewers – Gary Bellamy, Paul Gilsenan, Louise
Joly and John Miles.
Members of the Management Committee: David Fisher
(Broadway), Caroline Day and Jennifer Monfort (Centrepoint),
Peter Radage and Rachel Harding (Framework), Julie Robinson
and Tony Beech (St Anne’s), Simon Hughes and George Miller (St
Mungo’s), and John Crowther and Debra Ives (Thames Reach),
and to all their colleagues who have been Link Workers or have
otherwise assisted with recruitment and tracking.
Contact details
Tony Warnes: [email protected]
Maureen Crane: [email protected]
Sarah Coward: [email protected]
www.shef.ac.uk/sisa/research/fields/homeless