Name: Rebecca Coughlin

*Social Action Research

The client: Shelter

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support and legal services. And they campaign to make sure that one day, no one will have to turn to them for help.

Shelter is a registered charity which campaigns to end homelessness all together in England and Scotland. The charity gives advice, information and advocacy to people who need their help. They want to improve the lives of homeless people so they work in partnership with Shelter Cymru in Wales and the Housing Rights Service in Northern Ireland. Approximately two thirds of Shelter's expenditure goes on housing aid and one third on campaigns and education.

The charity first started in 1966 due to 3 million people living in slums due to the housing crisis. They raised money for these people to re-home them and stand up against the government. They’ve just reached their 50th year as a charity, but there is still homeless people to help.

To make a bigger change and to get more funding, the charity shared hundreds of stories of homeless people and families struggling to get by and living in horrible conditions as well as children suffering life-changing injuries playing on slum clearance sites. The public became outraged that these conditions existed in modern Britain which meant the charity was heard and got more funding.

The issues: Funding, the government, local authorities and the public.

What issues does your client campaign on?

Shelter campaigns to help people in the housing crisis as well as help to re-home people. In 2014–15, they helped 68,946 people through their face-to-face advice and support services. Over 3,000 people called the helpline on average each week, with one in six calls funded by M&S. And more than 300,000 people visit the advice pages of the Shelter website every month.

Shelter wants to raise money for underfunded housing associations so that they could re-house families in need. They also want to raise public awareness of homelessness and people’s appalling housing conditions.

What are some of the impacts that they have managed to achieve?

In 1980, Shelter helped convince the government to give social housing tenants the same security of tenure as private renters, this provided protection for families facing eviction at short notice.

Shelter’s Housing Aid Centers had also been advising people on housing law for some time, but in 1993 they set up an in-house legal arm. This meant that they employed top housing lawyers to fight directly on behalf of the people they were trying to help.

Then in 1977, the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act was passed thanks to Shelter. The act ruled that local authorities have a legal duty to house homeless people. This had a very positive effect for the homeless people in Britain and it made the law recognise the ‘hidden homeless’- people living on friends’ floors, in squats or unsafe conditions.

These were all key points on which Shelter had been campaigning and lobbying since 1966. Their contribution to achieving the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act remains one of their greatest achievements.

The issues:

What are they still hoping to achieve?

Shelter was founded on a will to address a deep injustice in society, and the passion that drove their founders is as strong today as it was then. Sadly, they ‘still have cause to feel the same horror we felt then’.

Shelter enters their 50th year, yet there are still 100,000 homeless children. So although they have many achievements over the years, there is till a lot that they can still do and they will not stop campaigning until ‘everyone has a home, our services will continue to be there 365 days a year to help anyone who needs us. This could be through our hands-on support work, our integrated service hubs or our helpline and website’.

Although they are not always successful; failing for too long to get the need for more homes back on the agenda or also weren’t able to convince governments to replace homes sold under Right to Buy, and many people’s homes today aren’t as secure as they once were. Shelter has achieved a lot and are still as determined as ever to help people who won’t be helped.

They want to get as many people off the streets as they can and help every family that has housing difficulty.

Facts and figures:

Shelter’s services rely on the support of other organisations who fund them, like the Big Lottery and Shelter’s partners including Vodafone, Nationwide, BT, British Gas, M&S, L&G and CBRE.

2014-2015:

68,946 people received help through Shelter’s face-to-face advice and support services.

4,410,442 people accessed the ‘Get advice’ pages of the Shelter website.From 2015 to 2016, 5,100,696 visits to the advice pages of the website.

53,480 families in England living in temporary accommodation. This is a rise of 42% in five years and 17% in the past year alone. Among those families, there are 103,430 children.

103,430 children are homeless.

44% of households living in temporary accommodation are singles mothers.

3,000 families are living in B&Bs which is a rise of 488% since 2009.

Facts and figures:

Shelter’s Income:

From running marathons to organising music nights, individuals and organisations take part in a wide range of fundraising activities for Shelter Scotland.

Raising awareness of Shelter Scotland's work and generating new income ensures that our services for people in housing need can continue in the long term. For every £1 it spends on fundraising, Shelter Scotland raises around £4.50.

Shelter Scotland keeps its management and administrative costs as low as possible.

Question ideas:

1. What is homelessness?2. When you see a homeless person, do you look the other way and keep on walking?3. Do you avoid making eye contact?4. What is your honest opinion of homeless people?5. Could it be that they are lazy?6. If so, should they simply stop being lazy and look for a decent job?7. Is it easy to get a job where you live?8. Do you think it is any easier to get a job, where you live, if you’re homeless?9. Have you considered that there are homeless people who do have regular jobs?10. Does your suspicion that some of these people might be pulling a con and actually making

good money by pretending to be homeless and begging, stop you from helping any of them?

11. Do you have any personal experience of homelessness?12. Could you handle being homeless day after day and keep things together?13. Are the homeless asking for money because they want to buy drugs and/or alcohol?14. Do you think the homeless are completely beyond our ability to help?15. How many family members or friends would let you stay at their house?16. How long would they let you stay?17. Do you help them, smile, offer something, anything, buy them food, stay there for a

moment and engage in a conversation?

Question ideas for the homeless:

1. What's their daily routine? 2. Where are they originally from? 3. What did they do before coming to your city? How did they end up coming there? (this line

of questioning should bring out their story and how they ended up there. Keep prodding gently -- if they show serious resistance, stop).

4. What are some of the things they've seen? Many times the homeless in a city have the best perspective for evaluating it.

5. Do they have any skill or technique to try to get money? What happens if they're sick or injured?

6. How long have they been coming to the shelter? 7. Ask them for examples of the kinder things people in your city have done to help. And, ask

for examples of the less kind things. 8. Do they have any friends or family who they see regularly? 9. What is something they think people should know about being homeless? Or, what do they

think misconceptions are? 10. There is, to a degree, a certain amount of choice in homelessness -- not huge, but it is

there. Don't USE the word choice, but ask them, gently, what they would be doing otherwise.

11. How useful/not useful are the authorities? Do they feel they care?12. Do they feel as though they have lost control of their lives?13. How do the public treat them?

Primary Research: ‘Your opinion on homelessness’ questionnaireQ1: What is homelessness?

• Homelessness is when an individual not only has no where to live but also has no source of income or education behind them anymore

• When you don't have a place to stay• A term described to a group of people who don't have a roof over their head or somewhere they an

easily call home• When a person is without a home/permanent home-they may have some form of sheltered

accommodation• People who are poor and have no house• Where someone has no place of shelter and faces the Earth's elements• I think its a way of life that happens when some has no place that they can go. So this forces them to

turn to living on the streets and possibly to begging for money• A home that you do not live in

Q2: What is your opinion of homeless people?

• I feel bad because they should be getting as much support as possible from the government and city councils but they're often ignored and don't get help for earning money which leads them to bad futures

• Made the wrong choices in life• They have just taken the wrong path in life and it's gone wrong• More should be done to combat homelessness and in particular the reasons why they become

homeless• Some of the loveliest people I have met have been homeless• They are always getting Starbucks for free• I feel bad for them but I have no money to give because I am poor also but not that poor

Q3: When you see a homeless person, do you pay attention to them?

• Yes 44.44% 4 responses• No 11.11% 1 response• Sometimes 33.33% 3 responses• Other 11.11% 1 response• If I have something to offer them then I do

Q4: Do you think some homeless people are pretending to be homeless to get money?

• Yes 11.11% 1 response• No 0.00% 0 response• Sometimes 66.67% 6 response• Other 22.22% 2 response• Yes• I think it is possible and there's always that worry if you do give money its not going to someone who deserves it.

Q5: Do you think the homeless ask for money because they want to buy drugs and/or alcohol?

• Yes 11.11% 1 response• No 0.00% 0 response• Sometimes 77.78% 7 responses• Other 11.11% 1 response• -

Q6: Do you have any personal experience of being or knowing someone homeless? If so, how old were you/they, what were the circumstances behind it, how did it improve?

• No 77% 7 responses• Yes• I was homeless after moving to reading with a boyfriend and having to leave the house and survive on my own at

15. I met so many caring homeless people who protected me at such a young age from exposure to rape and other such things

Q7: How many family members or friends would let you stay at their house if you became homeless?

• Quite a lot I imagine but not for a long period of time without me getting a job and finding other resources to live somewhere else

• All of them• Everyone in my family probably would and a lot of my friends if they had a spare bed• All of them I think• None• Around 1 or 2• I’d say a solid five people• I would say that I have a wide network of family and that would allow me to live with them if I was in desperate

need to• Yes

Q8: Do you help the homeless? Such offering something, buying them food, staying there for a moment and engaging in a conversation?

• Yes, sometimes I give money or buy food or buy 'The Big Issue' and talk to the seller• Food• Sometimes give them money for food but that’s about it• No – feel like I should• I busk and donate all money to homeless friends of mine or buy food and catch up with them• Yes• Yes, either with money or food• No. But now after reading this I should do more.• No I don't, I don't have many around my local area and when visiting towns and I see them I feel awkward as I am

there out shopping and they don't have somewhere warm to go. Therefore I try not to make eye contact and walk past as quickly as possible.

• Yes

Q9: What is the best way to help the homeless?

• Getting involved with organisations, getting them food, talking to councils, etc.• Give food, talk to them• Giving them food, water and clean clothes• More accommodation available and counseling for those who may find themselves having drug/alcohol problems• Just say hi• Don’t know• Help them find refuge in a YMCA or give them blankets, hot drink and food• Get them to a homeless shelter and offer support if needed• I feel that maybe it's up to a number of different sectors to sort out this problem. Probably mostly down to the

government to create a scheme of housing and jobs for homeless people as well as more affordable houses to stop this in future. Possibly having secondary schools educate people on financial services and help would also be a good idea

• Giving money to a charity

What this research tells me:

Most of the people who took part in my questionnaire know very little on homelessness, such as some people thinking homelessness is caused by people taking the wrong choices or being on the wrong path, where as most commonly many homeless people actually start out with jobs and stable residences, but then social and economic factors intervene, causing a rapid change in their living situation.

I also learned that half of my respondents help the homeless, be that food, money or just saying hi to them, but the other half feel awkward near them and try to avoid eye contact, but they also want to start helping them.

After analyzing the information, I think I need to consider making people know the reasons behind how people became homeless as well as reminding people they’re still human as I find that to be the biggest issue with people’s responses.

Marketing for Shelter

Marketing for other campaigns

http://www.nottinghampost.com/nottingham-s-anti-begging-poster-campaign/story-29027403-detail/story.html 28 September 2016

Anti-begging posters published by Nottingham council have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for "reinforcing negative stereotypes".

Nottingham City Council came under fire for the posters, which said money given to beggars would be used on drugs, alcohol or fraud.

The ASA said they were likely to cause offence and "portrayed all beggars as disingenuous".The council said it might appeal against the decision.

More than 2,000 people signed a petition criticising the council for "vilifying" the homeless with the messages "begging: watch your money go to a fraud" and "watch your money go up in smoke".

The authority said the language used in the adverts "portrayed all beggars as disingenuous and undeserving individuals that would use direct donations for irresponsible means".

Councillor Jon Collins, leader of the Labour run authority, said he was considering calling for a review of the decision. He said: "The posters needed to be hard-hitting to get such a serious message across effectively. There's no point in running a campaign that no-one is going to take notice of."In 2004, the council was told to withdraw similar posters because there was not enough evidence to back up its claims.