A collection of guest stories: The complicated causes of homelessness

In this blog, we’ll spotlight three stories of guests we supported last year, from the perspectives of our Caseworkers who supported them. Their stories show how diverse and complex the causes of homelessness can be, even in one city. 

Meet Eleanor*, who lost her home. 

Eleanor was self-employed and owned her own property in South London. However, when the pandemic hit, she struggled to find employment and couldn’t afford her rent or mortgage. She wanted to fix up her property and set up a payment plan, but when she suffered a huge leak in the house, it became too difficult to pay what she owed. The bank and housing authority took possession of her house, and she became homeless. 

She made a homeless application but didn’t hear back from the local authorities for a very long time, which she found extremely upsetting and confusing. She couldn’t understand why she wasn’t receiving a response. That’s when Eleanor came to one of our partner day centres.  

One added complexity of her case was that she wanted to stay in the London borough she had lived in previously, but the housing options were very limited in that borough. She had a high risk of developing serious health issues, so she wanted to stay near the doctors and hospital that she already knew. 

Eleanor’s story really highlights that homelessness can happen to anyone – you can be a successful, employed woman with your own house, but just a few unfortunate events can change your circumstances dramatically. Working with Eleanor, it was really important to ensure she had a lot of agency making decisions, as she felt a real loss of identity after losing her home, job and financial security all at the same time. 

With help from Glass Door, she successfully applied for Universal Credit, so she had a few extra support systems in place while looking for more permanent housing. Her Caseworker then made a referral to one of our partners, who was fortunately able to secure housing for Eleanor. 

Meet Tyler*, who is estranged from his family. 

Tyler was a young man in his mid-twenties when he met his Glass Door Caseworker. He came to us after becoming estranged from his family and was no longer able to stay at his parents’ home.  

He was temporarily able to live with another family member, but this was not a good long-term solution, and he needed help to find different accommodation. His Glass Door Caseworker helped him apply for Universal Credit so that he had some support to live independently. 

While Tyler did not have a criminal record, there were indications that he might be vulnerable to being recruited into crime. People left on the margins like Tyler are more likely to be coerced into risky and dangerous situations, and this increases their risk of street homelessness. 

Unfortunately, we see a lot of variations of stories like Tyler’s. Born in the UK, young, but with unstable family connections or no family connections at all – for example, if they’ve recently left the foster care system. 

Meet Stan*, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child. 

Stan was a man in his 50s who had been homeless for around 10 years, moving from place to place with his dog. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury in childhood, which sadly is quite common for people experiencing homelessness in adulthood, but isn’t immediately obvious or visible to others.  

In fact, one study backed by international research suggests that almost half of people who are homeless have experienced head injuries. What’s more, is that 90% of respondents in this study reported that their first injury had been sustained before becoming homeless, which signifies that brain injuries could be a factor in causing homelessness, as well as a consequence of it. Severe head injuries can have extreme cognitive effects on someone’s behaviour, including their emotions, understanding, and decision-making skills.  

Due to his brain injury, Stan exhibited a lot of erratic and impulsive behaviour, often leaving accommodation he was placed in. For example, on several occasions, he abandoned the homeless hostels where he was staying. This meant it was very difficult to find him a more stable and permanent solution, but his Caseworker was eventually able to find him housing with his dog, in partnership with an external outreach team. 

These are just a few guest stories from the past year, but they are not the only ones. It's important for us to shine light on the experiences of our guests – behind the numbers, there are thousands of unique stories to share. Their stories give insight into the stark reality of the many causes of homelessness in London.