Better Together: Preventing Re-offending and Homelessness

With input from 400 homelessness professionals and 75 people supported by them, this 2011 report provides homelessness and criminal justice agencies, as well as policy makers and commissioners, an overview of the complex links between homelessness and re-offending, where each can be a cause and a result of the other.

“It’s a cycle…my probation officer didn’t agree with my keyworker, but I need to keep both of them happy. I need to keep my keyworker happy so I can keep my accommodation. But if my probation officer isn’t happy, I’ll end up back in jail.”

There are complex links between homelessness and reoffending, where each can be a cause and a result of the other. Over 75% of homelessness services in England support clients who are prison leavers.1 In turn, ex-prisoners who are homeless upon release are more likely to re-offend than those who have stable accommodation.

Despite these links, little attention has been given to understanding how homelessness and criminal justice agencies work together to support clients. How do those in the criminal justice sector address an individual’s housing needs? How do staff in the homelessness sector help their clients to stop offending? And for the people at the heart of it, are we getting it right?

Better Together: Preventing Re-offending and Homelessness