Homelessness And Social Policy

Who are the homeless in Britain today? How does their homelessness occur? Contributors review theoretical and legal conceptualisations of homelessness, analyse the statistics and evaluate the policy responses so far. The problem of homelessness is deeply emblematic of the sort of society Britain has become. What other social phenomena could better epitomise the end of modernity than our seeming inability to adequately respond to the most basic needs - shelter, warmth, food - of substantial numbers of our 'citizens'? Homelessness and Social Policy offers a dispassionate analysis of the problem of homelessness and the policy responses it has so far invoked. By reviewing theoretical and legal conceptualisations of homelessness and presenting extensive statistical analyses, this book considers the impact of the experience of homelessness and the policy responses. Homelessness and Social Policy will prove to be invaluable to students of social and public policy, health studies, housing studies and sociology.