Homelessness understandably spiked in the wake of the great recession in 2008, but has this spike coincided with changes in attitudes towards the homeless?  That was the question posed by a recent study from Aix-Marseille University, and colleagues from the HOME_EU consortium, who examined the changing attitudes towards homelessness across Europe.

The survey reveals support for greater government action to tackle homelessness, but also highlights some of the negative biases that continue to underpin our opinion of the problem.

The researchers examine the perception of homelessness in France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and Spain, with the sample from each country as nationally representative as possible.  Participants were quizzed on their knowledge, attitude and practice around homelessness.

Lack of knowledge

The survey revealed a general lack of knowledge about the magnitude of the problem, with nearly 60% of respondents underestimating the scale of homelessness in Europe.  This general ignorance also underpinned perceptions of the issue, with around a third of respondents having a negative attitude towards either the homeless themselves or the amount of money spent by their government on it.

This contrasted with nearly 60% of respondents who had a more positive attitude to both the individuals involved and the government response to the problem.  These positive attitudes were most common in urban areas.

The authors believe that their findings suggest policy makers could reallocate funds to programs that do an effective job of addressing homelessness with the general support of the public.  They should also work harder to better address those members of society who retain a dim view of homeless people.

“The findings of the HOME_EU project reveal a high level (58%) of positive attitudes toward homeless people among surveyed European citizens. For example, more than a three quarter of survey respondents thought that Government spending on Homelessness was too little (only 2% thinking spending is too much). Similarly, a large majority of European Citizens estimated that the capabilities of people experiencing homelessness were reduced. Our findings provide an important element to support the current development of new social initiatives to address homelessness, such as the Housing First model,” the authors conclude.