New research from national homelessness charity Crisis claims that learning and skills are the key routes out of homelessness. Over half of homeless people want to participate in such activities, but only one fifth do. In their recent research report, Missed Opportunities, Crisis points out that a third of homeless people have no qualifications. Crisis says that adult learning provision is not reaching this vulnerable group.
Through its Weapons of Mass Instruction campaign (www.crisiscampaigns.org.uk), Crisis is calling on Government to maximise access to learning for those in greatest need. Government must use the learning and skills agenda to reduce the social exclusion of homeless people at national, regional and local level, through strategies that increase engagement. Investing in learning and skills for homeless people offers significant economic and policy benefits across a range of government agendas.
The potential of the 'invest-to-save' argument is compelling. An investment of £206 - the cost of learning and skills work at one of the homelessness agencies featured in the research - could result in positive individual, social, and economic savings.
The fiscal costs of homelessness include:
Learning benefits the individual through improved mental health, social reintegration, and employability. The Government benefits by reaching policy targets, and the taxpayer saves money.
Crisis proposes a new national fund to encourage voluntary organisations working with different vulnerable groups - such as drug and alcohol misusers, offenders, and mental health service clients - to work together. Charities have demonstrated what can be done in terms of provision, and homeless people prefer going to the voluntary sector for support, but the funding available is too limited and bureaucratic to apply for and administer.
The youth homelessness charity Centrepoint announced that its youth educators programme had been short-listed for a prestigious Children and Young People's Services Award, under the youth work category. The awards, facilitated by Children Now and Young People Now, celebrate the achievements of the voluntary sector throughout the UK.
Centrepoint's youth educators programme is particularly innovative, since it focuses on young people training staff - rather than other young people.
St. Mungo's, London's leading homeless charity, celebrated World Mental Health Day, with a one-day event at its Bridge training centre offering taster courses to homeless people. The event offered homeless people the opportunity to take literacy and IT classes and many other training and vocational courses that will help them overcome the barriers to finding and holding down work.
The charity points out that 86% of people with longer-term mental health problems are unemployed and those who are unemployed are twice as likely than employed people to have mental health problems, specifically depression.
Kate Whalley, the Group manager for health at the charity said: "At St Mungo's we are committed to challenging stigma and discrimination and ensuring that access to education, training and employment opportunities are available to all homeless men and women."