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Attitudes to homelessness
14/11/2007
Scottish people's mixed attitudes towards homelessness have been revealed in the first ever nationwide survey of its kind.
Results from the 2006 Scottish Social Attitudes survey, conducted by the Scottish Centre for Social Research, on public attitudes to homelessness shows that a variety of opinions exist about homeless people themselves, the causes of homelessness and how the problem should be dealt with.
While many Scots think homeless people have been unlucky in their lives, a majority still associates homelessness with sleeping rough, with about a fifth of respondents linking homelessness to drink or drug abuse. However, only a small proportion blames homeless people for anti-social behaviour and a clear majority thinks homeless people should sometimes be prioritised on housing waiting lists.
The key findings include:
- 48 per cent of people agree that 'most homeless people have just been unlucky in their lives', but 28 percent disagree and 22 percent neither agree nor disagree
- At the same time, 45 percent agree with the more 'critical' statement that 'most homeless people could find somewhere to live if they really tried', while 33 percent disagree
- Similarly, 35 percent agree that 'many people say they are homeless just to try and get a house from the council', while 29 percent disagree
- There is a widespread misconception that most homeless people sleep rough at some point - 61 percent agree that this is the case
- Twenty-one percent agree that 'most people end up being homeless simply because they drink too much' and 18 percent agree that 'most homeless people use hard drugs'. However, half disagree with each of these statements
- Around six in 10 think that some people who become homeless for different reasons are more deserving than others, with a similar proportion thinking that some homeless people should get more help than others
- A majority of people (58 percent) think homeless people should 'sometimes' get homes before other local people on the housing waiting list
- Only one in 10 (11 percent) believes that homeless people cause problems in their local area, while over half (52 percent) disagree that this is the case
- When asked to consider how comfortable or uncomfortable they would feel with homeless people being re-housed near them, people are relatively evenly divided - around a third say they would be comfortable, a third uncomfortable and a third neither comfortable nor uncomfortable
Stewart Maxwell, Minister for Communities and Sport, said:
"These findings are very helpful in painting a picture of people's attitudes towards homelessness and homeless people. They show that while many people are sympathetic to the situations homeless people find themselves in, a number of preconceptions remain as a barrier to understanding.
"For example, a common view appears to be that most homeless people sleep rough at some point. I think it's important to recognise that although, sadly, a minority of homeless people will end up on the streets, the problem of homelessness affects a much greater number of people who are in need of a home of their own and cannot obtain one.
"Many people appear to recognise that homelessness is, in the vast majority of cases, no-one's 'fault' and is the result of societal pressures and individual circumstances. It's the recognition of this that prompted the introduction of Scotland's progressive homelessness legislation to give all unintentionally homeless people equal access to housing by 2012, to which the Government remains committed.
"I believe the majority of Scottish people support this approach, but we must continue to work as hard as possible to make sure the population at large sees the reasoning behind, and the value of, what we are working towards."
The Scottish Social Attitudes survey is carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen) and involves about 1,500 interviews each year. Respondents are selected using random probability sampling to ensure that the results are robust and representative of the Scottish population. The 2006 survey, which was conducted between August 2006 and January 2007, involved face-to-face interviews and a self-completion questionnaire with 1,594 Scottish adults (aged 18+).