Who are the homeless in Britain today? How does their homelessness occur? Contributors review theoretical and legal conceptualisations of homelessness, analyse the statistics and evaluate the policy responses so far.

Preface John Greve 1. Homelessness in Contemporary Britain: Conceptualisation and Measurement Nicholas Pleace, Deborah Quilgars and Roger Burrows 2. Homelessness and the Law Stuart Lowe 3. Theorising Homelessness: Contemporary Sociological and Feminist Perspectives Joanne Neale 4. The Social Distribution of the Experience of Homelessness Roger Burrows 5. The Characteristics of Single Homeless People in England Peter Kemp 6. Mortgage Arrears, Mortgage Possessions and Homelessness Janet Ford 7. Soldiering On? Theorising Homelessness Amongst Ex-Servicemen Paul Higate 8. The Housing Needs of Ex-Prisoners Jane Carlisle 9. The Health of Single Homelessness People Wendy Bines 10. Health, Homelessness and Access to Health Care Services in London Nicholas Pleace and Deborah Quilgars 11. Rehousing Single Homeless People Nicholas Pleace 12. Opening Doors in the Private Rented Sector: Developments in Assistance with Access Julie Rugg 13. The Capacity of the Private Rented Sector to House Homeless Households Mark Bevan and David Rhodes 14. Hostels: A Useful Policy and Practice Response? Joanne Neale 15. Addressing the Problem of Youth Homelessness and Unemployment: the Contribution of Foyers Deborah Quilgars and Isobel Anderson 16. Working Together to Help Homeless People: an Examination of Inter-Agency Themes Christine Oldman References Name index Subject index

'Well-written and informative articles on all aspects of homelessness, with lots of useful statistics.' - Roof - Shelter's Housing Magazine'This is unquestionably an important collection and will prove invaluable to academic researchers, policy makers and housing practitioners.' - Policy Studies'In bringing together a very diverse but coherent collection of chapters, this book is important in informing and updating a subject area - homelessness - which is regrettably so relevant in Britain today.' - Sociology Vol 32:3 1998'It is a good introduction to its field, covering many issues and aspects of homelessness and social policy.' - Urban Studies Vol 36 1999'It provides, in one place, a compendium of some key research on homelessness and , through the authors' references, an access point to many other studies. Theory, empirical research and a concern for an important social problem are effectively integrated ... this is a book to recommend to all seeking an understanding of the interplay of social policy and homelessness in contemporary Britain.' - Social Science and Medicine Vol 48 1999'Overall this volume offers a collection of recent research which is closely related to policy concerns and perceived public perceptions ... the book should be an essential addition to reading lists on homelessness.' - Housing Studies Vol 13:6 1998'The authors of this book have provided a valuable service in drawing together work carried out on homelessness at the Centre for Social Policy at the University of York during the 1990s ... this book provides many positive ideas that could underpin more enlightened policies and practices and will, as the authors hope, "be of use to all those people who want to change things for the better".' - Community Care November/December 1998