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80% of homelessness workers at risk of burnout as service demand soars, survey finds
Eighty per cent of homelessness workers feel at risk of burnout, with the vast majority struggling to help people find housing, as demand for services soars.
An annual survey, to which more than 1,000 frontline employees contributed earlier this year, revealed that 93% of respondents found it difficult or very difficult to find suitable accommodation for people accessing services.
Particular challenges were around trying to find suitable accommodation for children, people trying to move away from abusive family members and those experiencing multiple challenges, the research by charity St Martin in the Fields found.
Almost half (47%) of people who contributed to the survey said their ability to prevent future homelessness had decreased, with 84% reporting an increase in demand for services.
An Inside Housing investigation recently found statutory council services are becoming harder to access in some areas as local systems came under intense pressure, with the number of households in temporary accommodation rising to more than 117,000 nationally.
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Two-thirds (64%) of survey respondents said their job was having a negative impact on their own well-being. The finding mirrors those of some other surveys, such as one by Homeless Link in 2022 which reported staff burnout as a concern for 78% of organisations.
But amid the cost of living crisis, half (52%) of staff told the St Martins in the Fields survey that they found it hard to pay their own bills “at least some of the time”. Almost as many (44%) reported struggling to meet their housing costs.
Duncan Shrubsole, chief executive of St Martin in the Fields, said the findings “capture starkly the challenges homelessness workers are seeking to overcome and the struggles they themselves face trying to make ends meet”.
Almost a quarter (23%) of those surveyed said they worried about becoming homeless themselves, with more than one in 10 (12%) having been previous users of homelessness services.
Just over half (55%) of respondents worked for homelessness charities, with 71% describing themselves as dedicated frontline workers and 36% having been in the job for more than a decade.
It was the seventh time the survey has been conducted since 2017.
Mr Shrubsole said: “Tackling homelessness is everybody’s business and we also need to see concerted steps by the government and all of the new devolved administrations across the UK.
“Rapid action is needed to increase the supply of rented housing and specialist accommodation and to ensure it is affordable and available to those experiencing or vulnerable to homelessness.”
He added there was a need for “sustained investment” nationally and locally in homelessness support services.
“Short-term contracts and squeezed budgets have a knock-on effect on pay and conditions and the ability to recruit and retain skilled staff,” Mr Shrubsole said.
“It’s unacceptable that frontline staff are themselves at risk of experiencing the homelessness they work so hard to pull others out of. Good services with effective and motivated staff are key to reducing the costs and misery of homelessness.”
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