Migrant homelessness has long been the ‘elephant in the room’ in discussions with government. The need to be seen to be tough on immigration has meant that policy solutions to support migrants out of homelessness have too often gone unheeded. Instead, the immigration and asylum systems are a direct cause of homelessness, pushing many into hardship and destitution and leaving services without the resources to provide meaningful support. In recent months these pressures have increased to the point that many homelessness services are struggling to manage the scale of demand.
Meanwhile, the far-right riots that erupted across the UK in summer 2024 have exposed the very real risks of racist abuse and physical and mental harm that people from racialised communities can face, including migrants, refugees and people in the asylum system. They underline the urgent need for policy solutions that protect, not marginalise and scapegoat, people subject to immigration restrictions.
With a new Government comes new opportunities and the hope of working alongside Ministers to implement a more considered and effective approach to tackling migrant homelessness to create a society with a home for everyone.
Outlining solutions for change
Homeless Link and NACCOM have published an updated version of our Vital Solutions to Ending Migrant Homelessness policy briefing, exploring the key drivers of, and potential solutions to, homelessness amongst migrants. It is supported by over 80 organisations working in the fields of homelessness, housing, and migrants’ rights, from local grassroots charities to leading national organisations.
The briefing outlines that the scale of the challenge demands not only a cross-departmental, coordinated response at both a national and local level, but also urgent reform to ensure that immigration policy, rather than being a driver of homelessness, contributes towards the goal of preventing and ending homelessness for all.
Preventing homelessness should be a considered part of the immigration system, alongside greater collaboration with housing, welfare, and voluntary and statutory services, and improved recourse to justice through our legal systems.
Prior to the election, Homeless Link, NACCOM, and 117 other organisations in the homelessness and migrants’ rights sectors wrote an open letter to party leaders urging action on migrant homelessness.
Nobody should be homeless because of their immigration status. Working together we can push for the changes we need to design homelessness and destitution out of the asylum and immigration system.
