ABSTRACT
Most people are never likely to become roofless or homeless. However, a significant minority of people are vulnerable to homelessness, some of whom remain so for a very long time, yet never actually become roofless. Others are not only vulnerable, but do become roofless. This chapter explores the complex nature of homelessness by looking at the factors that trigger rooflessness and protect against it. Current literature is beginning to discuss the notion of counterbalancing or protecting factors that can delay or prevent rooflessness (e.g. Smith and Ravenhill 2007; Connexions Service National Unit 2001; DTLR 2001b). However, the literature doesn’t consider how to artificially stimulate counterbalances and protecting factors when they don’t exist in an individual’s life. Homeless in Trafalgar Square https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315615240/950fd2af-f03d-483d-b341-547e5db45ae9/content/photagragh6_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: Megan Wilkinson, 1996.
