Survey finds more Scots have changed attitudes towards homelessness

Charity calls for greater understanding of why people end up homeless, writes Chris Mccall

Scotland has undergone a shift in attitudes towards homelessness in the last decade, new research has found.

Experts said the study revealed the public now has a better understanding of the causes of homelessness than it did 12 years ago.

In the last year, 34,100 households made a homelessness application to one of the country’s 32 local authorities.

Researchers compared attitudes expressed by members of the public in Scotland today and in the 2006 Scottish Social Attitudes survey.

Both surveys asked respondents to what extent they agreed or disagreed with identical statements about homelessness.

Researchers found that when asked whether they thought ‘most homeless people could find somewhere to live if they really tried’, 45 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement in 2006, compared to only 19 per cent today.

When asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement that ‘many people say they are homeless to get a house from the council’, 35 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement in 2006, compared to 23 per cent today.

Street Soccer Scotland, a non-profit social enterprise that delivers personal development programmes to socially disadvantaged adults, commissioned the research.

But the charity’s founder added there was still a long way to go to end the stigma of homelessness.

David Duke, founder and CEO of Street Soccer Scotland, said: “We can’t know why there’s been a change in attitudes towards homelessness, but it’s probably because more people feel like it could happen to them. It’s not ‘us’ and ‘them’ any more.

“It could also be down to a big push in recent years from government and the third sector, focusing on homelessness and its causes. This activity, along with the everyday experiences of people affected by the high cost of housing, means more and more we are looking at different ways to tackle homelessness.

“We need to remember that before homelessness, often a series of unfortunate and sometimes tragic events led them there, often without the support network around them.”

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