Hidden homelessness: using research for social good

In early 2020, MRS launched a competition for a research proposal that would help further society’s understanding of homelessness in the UK. Walnut Unlimited won the competition and despite the pandemic challenges endeavoured to produce a ground-breaking piece of research revealing the prevalence and impact of a less visible form of homelessness, ‘sofa surfing’.

Most of us picture people sleeping rough or housed in temporary hostels. But the most common form of homelessness is, according to the Crisis Homeless Monitor: England 2021, sofa surfing.

“Research and policy interventions seem to focus on the more visible groups at the detriment of those who are hidden... This is particularly surprising considering sofa surfing is numerically the largest form of core homelessness.” (Fitzpatrick et al., 2021)

Not to be confused with couch-surfing (a form of free holiday accommodation where an online community of people open their homes to fellow travellers), sofa surfing is having to stay on someone’s sofa or floor on a short-term, insecure basis because there is nowhere else to go.

Emotionally draining, logistically challenging and sometimes dangerous, this research explored the experience of sofa surfing through the eyes of those who have lived it, as well as setting this form of homelessness within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also provides invaluable insight into the emerging cost-of-living crisis and the likely impact that it will have on people experiencing sofa surfing.

In this webinar, Walnut Unlimited:

• Present the key findings from the research, bringing the voices of those experiencing sofa surfing to life
• Discuss the research approach, with a collaborative approach involving experts from across the sector alongside a lived experience participatory group
• Share implications from the research for support services and wider society, as well as the reflections of the Walnut Unlimited research team