Welcome to our series of Insights from Listen Up! Our lived experience-led project seeks to tackle homeless health inequalities by amplifying the voices of people experiencing homelessness to.
Each themed Insight will be accompanied by a webinar where we will co-design a list of recommended actions.
Reminder: you can read all our community reporters reports on our Listen Up! homelessness insights hub.
Listen Up! Insight 1: Mental Health (October 2022)
This Insight draws on nationwide research interviews with 44 people experiencing homelessness and a selection of stories from our 14 community reporters, who have lived experience of homelessness. We have included extracts from reporter stories and quotes from participant interviews to illustrate our key findings.
The Insight shows that mental health and homelessness are complexly linked. It identifies barriers to accessing mental health support and shows how poor mental health can also impair access to safe housing. We also share ideas for promoting good mental health and what helps people experiencing homelessness in accessing mental health support
Watch webinar
Listen up! have released part 1 of their insight webinar on mental health which was held on 16th of November 2022. Part 1 of the webinar outlines the insight’s research findings in relation to navigating and accessing mental health services, the experience of prejudice and stigma and the connection between mental health and housing. In part 2 of the webinar, participants share their solutions and proposed actions which tackle the issues raised from the insight’s findings on mental health and homelessness.
Listen Up! Insight 2: Drug and Alcohol
Dependency and Recovery (May 2023)
In this Insight we look at drug and alcohol dependency, drawing on research interviews with 75 men and women experiencing a range of situations including rough sleeping and staying in temporary accommodation and hostels. 26 of them reported current or past experience of drug and/or alcohol dependency. Interviews have been analysed alongside community reporters’ stories, which provide additional rich perspectives.
We heard about the complex connections between recovery from drugs and alcohol dependency and recovery from homelessness, mental health and trauma. Drug and alcohol dependency often had long lasting impacts on physical and mental health for people with experience of homelessness. Stigma, lack of home and significant barriers to seeking help for drug and alcohol dependency hindered recovery. Conversely, a sense of home, supportive relationships and feelings of hope played a positive role in people’s recovery journeys.
Keep listening
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Watch webinar
Listen up! has released their second insight webinar which was held on the 24th of March, it discusses the complex connection between drug and alcohol dependency and mental health and homelessness. If you want to hear more about their co-designed set of actions for professionals in the health and homelessness sector that were produced in webinar, please watch and share the link.