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The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK

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  • Anna Clarke

    (Cambridge Centre for Housing & Planning Research, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, UK)

Abstract

Whilst data on statutory homelessness is well recorded in the UK, there is a lack of data on informal homelessness (such as ‘sofa surfing’) and rough sleeping, other than that which relies on partial information and street counts. This paper presents findings from a recent online survey of young people and helps to fill this gap. It found that rates of sofa surfing and rough sleeping among young people were much higher than previously thought. Twenty-six percent of young people (aged 16–25) had slept rough at some point in their life and 35 percent had ‘sofa surfed’ (stayed with friends or family on their floor or sofa because they had nowhere else to go). The paper explores the implications of this for how we conceptualise homelessness. It suggests that homelessness may often be neither cause nor consequence of wider forms of exclusion, but that we may need to explore further the factors that enable some people to move swiftly out of homelessness more easily than others.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Clarke, 2016. "The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 60-72.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v:4:y:2016:i:4:p:60-72
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Juliet Stone & Ann Berrington & Jane Falkingham, 2014. "Gender, Turning Points, and Boomerangs: Returning Home in Young Adulthood in Great Britain," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(1), pages 257-276, February.
    2. Peter Mackie, 2012. "Housing Pathways of Disabled Young People: Evidence for Policy and Practice," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(6), pages 805-821.
    3. Hodgson, K.J. & Shelton, K.H. & Van Den Bree, M.B.M. & Los, F.J., 2013. "Psychopathology in young people experiencing homelessness: A systematic review," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(6), pages 24-37.
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    Cited by:

    1. Isobel Anderson & Masa Filipovic & Joe Finnerty, 2016. "Researching Homelessness: Challenging Exclusion?," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 1-4.

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