BOOK REVIEW

The Culture of Homelessness
Megan Ravenhill (2008)
Ashgate, Hardback £52.25, ISBN 9780754671909

Becoming homeless is a process and movements into and through homelessness, as Rebecca Tunstall points out in her preface, have been neglected in homelessness studies. The Culture of Homelessness helps to fill the gap. The book’s main themes are set out in the introduction: comparing roofless people with those who experienced similar triggers but who never actually became homeless; examining the influence of the ‘homelessness industry’ on transitions through homelessness; exploring the impact of ‘homeless culture’ and investigating what the author calls the ‘assault course’ of the resettlement process.

Chapters two and three competently explore definitions and explanations of homelessness but, unlike Carol McNaughton’s Transitions Through Homelessness (2008) that adopts a similar methodological approach, these explorations are not well-related to the definitions and explanations used to analyse the research material. Chapter four contains an interesting account of the impact of homelessness legislation on the rough sleeping issue although it is somewhat restricted in its analysis of Blair’s flagship Coming In From the Cold programme (1999).

The research material through which the book’s main themes are interrogated was gathered between October 1997 and July 2001 and May 2004 to November 2006. It consisted of ‘life story interviews’, ‘depth interviews’,’ informal interviews and long conversations’ - plus ‘covert observation on the streets’, participant observation in homelessness organisations and ‘life-story scenarios of homeless people used in promotional literature’ (p.82). All the chosen methods are fully explained and justified in chapter five. The longitudinal and ethnographic methods reveal their insights in chapter six. Here the importance of accumulating triggers into homelessness over time is revealed with the first triggers often starting in childhood and with, on average, nine years between triggers and homelessness. A number of individual route-maps into homelessness are set out that expose the long-term processes involved in becoming homeless with rough sleeping episodes interspersed with squatting, staying with friends, living in unsatisfactory accommodation etc.

Chapter seven contains a vivid description of the ‘homeless culture’ or, more accurately, ‘homeless cultures’ including the ‘street drinking culture’ and the ‘drug-addicted’ culture – ignored in the literature according to the author because ‘people in the homeless industry fear that such an analysis could create a discourse by which homeless people would be judged, and this is felt to be unhelpful’ (p.145). Not all culture participants were rough sleepers - they were joined by the ‘homeless at heart’ (lonely and isolated in their accommodation and seeking camaraderie at day centres) and ‘homeless advocates and activists’ (ex-homeless people who had formed organizations aimed at helping or fighting on behalf of roofless people). The cultures had their hierarchies and pecking orders with the homeless person with the most problems ranking the highest. Culture membership was a source of identity, friendship and support and becoming homeless meant ‘learning to be homeless’ by absorption into the culture. The learning process was short with those remaining marginal to the homeless culture being more likely to exit homelessness.

Chapter eight explores ‘the long struggle faced by those attempting to resettle’ (p 183). Four dominant catalysts triggered the exit process: the bottom had been reached and the only way was up; the lifestyle was getting too much; a sudden shock or trauma and the realisation that someone cared. However the resettlement process was difficult to access at all stages and Ravenhill’s accounts of the barriers to escaping rooflessness are important contributions to the homelessness literature.

Chapter nine sets out conclusions and recommendations including a useful section on roofless people’s views on what would prevent rooflessness and some robust recommendations on changes to existing system such as ‘keeping people within the hostel system while they wait for some form of social housing or supported housing to become available is counterproductive and in some cases damaging, Rather than calls for more hostels there needs to be a faster movement of people to independent living training or “probationary” accommodation (p 229).

The Culture of Homelessness - a strange title given that only chapter seven is devoted to culture - has all the strengths and weaknesses associated with the qualitative, ethnographic approach. It is valuable in capturing the experiences of people ‘without a settled way of living’ - to use the Poor Law terminology - and the reader can taste and smell the issue. Following Jencks’ The Homeless (1994), it has some perceptive comments on the impact of the ‘homeless industry’ that ‘whilst attempting to alleviate homelessness’ has an interest ‘to ensure that there is always a next phase that needs to be looked into and addressed’ (p.15) and by providing services draws ‘some people out of precarious housing (or difficult living situations) and into homelessness…’ (p 15).

However, at times, the data presentation is not systematic so that, for example, the important comparison of roofless people with those who experienced similar triggers but never actually became homeless becomes somewhat lost in the case study detail. In addition the representativeness of the research findings cannot be assessed. As examples, the seven route-maps into homelessness on offer consist of five women and two men whereas according to the Social Exclusion Unit’s report Rough Sleeping (1998) nine out of ten rough sleepers are men. Moreover we do not know how many homeless people are absorbed into the homeless culture and how many remained aloof, part of the ‘hidden’ homelessness. Thus, although The Culture of Homelessness is insightful, robust and interesting, its policy recommendations need to be treated with caution.

Brian Lund, Department of Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University

References
Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1999) Coming in from the Cold: The Government's Strategy on Rough Sleeping, London: DETR

Jencks, C. (1994) The Homeless, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

McNaughton, C. (2008) Transitions Through Homelessness: Lives on the Edge, London: PalgraveMacmillan.

Social Exclusion Unit (1998) Rough Sleeping, Cm 4008, London: The Stationery Office.