Overførstergården og Arbejde Adler

After a stay in a homeless centre

About the survey

The homeless organisation (shelter) is responsible for identifying the challenges and needs of the citizen. The municipality is responsible for addressing these challenges and needs through support and treatment programmes, such as housing support, psychiatric treatment or addiction treatment. The aim is to enable the citizen to maintain their housing and build a more stable life after their stay in the homeless shelter, thus avoiding a relapse into homelessness.

The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which people receive support and treatment after a stay in a homeless shelter and whether they achieve a stable life.

How we did it

The report is based on register data on the housing and employment situation of former residents of homeless institutions and their contact with addiction treatment, healthcare and the police in the period 2012-2016.

Here's what we found

Moving out of a homeless institution does not mean a permanent housing solution. Almost half move three times or more in the first three years, and one in five move five times or more. In comparison, Danes in the 18-65 age group move about 2 million times in three years, which means that just over half the population moves once in three years.

People with longer stays in a homeless shelter have the greatest housing stability. People who have had a relatively short stay in a homeless shelter (1-3 months) move particularly often in the following years. This means that homeless services and caseworkers need to start initiatives during their stay if they are to succeed in helping this group to achieve more stable housing.

However, people with longer stays in homeless shelters are less likely to move on. This suggests that relatively long stays in homeless shelters may be a positive factor in achieving long-term housing stability. It is also in these institutions that most people move into their own homes, which seems to create more stability.

Assuming that physical and mental illness require treatment, the results show that citizens receive somatic treatment to a high degree, but to a lesser extent and after longer waiting times, they receive psychiatric treatment. The extent of addiction treatment does not correspond to the proportion of people with an addiction problem, and the proportion of alcohol treatment in particular is very low.

The study also shows that staying in homeless shelters is associated with more contact with health care and addiction treatment. The proportion of people receiving psychiatric, somatic and alcohol treatment increases during their stay, as does the number of people starting substance abuse treatment. After leaving the homeless shelter, contact with the different types of treatment decreases, with the exception of substance abuse treatment, where the number of treatment starts decreases.