According to an independent report commissioned by Kent homeless charity Porchlight, single homeless people in Kent and Medway face a "non-system" of support.
The report, Slipping Through The Net, was launched at Porchlight's Rough Night conference.
The research, conducted by the University of Kent, sets out to present a snapshot of how agencies, single homeless people and the services that are set up to assist them, perceive each other.
Mike Barrett, Porchlight Chief Executive, said:
"The purpose of the report is to generate debate and enable both sides to enter into open and honest dialogue.
"It is my hope that this will further improve joint working and allow us all to gain a deeper understanding of the problems faced by both providers of services and those who need to use them."
The single homeless people interviewed for the report expressed feelings of being "pushed from pillar to post".
The report also highlights differing definitions of homeless as the major cause of problems, with official council estimates of homelessness referring to homeless people who approach them and who are accepted as eligible and in priority need. It states that this group represents only half of the people who approach councils as homeless and calls for "a better balance between local need and local provision".
Mr Barrett added:
"The fact that many individuals in our society are already frightened, frustrated and angry may go someway to helping practitioners understand why vulnerable people vanish, or do not respond positively to being told that they need to find their own way; this in a housing market that is out of their reach in terms of affordability and supply.
"We hope that the report is received in a spirit of co-operation and is the catalyst to get agencies, organisations and Government talking about how we can work better together in partnership. Eventually we want this to mean that people no longer slip through gaps in the system."
The report is based on 91 interviews with local authorities, prison and probation services, addiction and mental health units, agencies providing housing and services and single homeless people. It has been launched against the backdrop of the Government's No-one Left Out strategy, which aims to end rough sleeping in England by 2012. As part of this strategy, Porchlight was named as an Ending Rough Sleeping Champion and asked to share the best practice of its rough sleeper service, which is one of the largest in the country.
Porchlight is a Kent-wide independent local charity that works to support single, vulnerable homeless people or those at risk of homelessness. It was established in 1974 as Canterbury Cyrenians and works throughout Kent.