ABSTRACT
Little has been published on homeless culture in Britain, partially because the research is difficult, time-consuming and costly. Additionally, people within the homeless industry fear that such an analysis could create a discourse by which homeless people would be judged, and this is felt to be unhelpful. However, it is important to homeless people to have a defining discourse that accurately portrays their lifestyle (Min 1999). Furthermore, if we are serious about preventing and resolving rooflessness we need to understand the importance of the homeless culture in attracting and holding members. This chapter aims to give some definition to the British homeless culture and explore how and why it becomes attractive and locks people into rooflessness for considerable periods of time. It explores the intensity, vibrancy and attraction of the homeless culture.
