The Society of St James

What Causes Homelessness in the UK? 10 Common Reasons People Become Homeless

Fahim Miah — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:59:15 +0000

Homelessness is a complex issue affecting thousands of people across the UK. While rough sleeping is often the most visible form of homelessness, many people experience "hidden homelessness" by staying in temporary accommodation, sofa surfing, or living in unsuitable housing.

What Is Homelessness?

A person may be considered homeless if they do not have a safe or secure place to live. This includes people staying in temporary accommodation, hostels, or with friends and family.

10 Common Causes of Homelessness in the UK

1. Lack of Affordable Housing

A shortage of affordable homes is one of the leading causes of homelessness in the UK. Rising rents and limited housing availability can make it difficult for people on lower incomes to secure stable accommodation.

2. Poverty

People experiencing poverty are more vulnerable to homelessness. When income does not cover essential living costs, keeping up with rent and household bills can become increasingly difficult.

3. Unemployment

Losing a job or experiencing a significant reduction in income can place people at risk of losing their homes, particularly if they have limited savings.

4. Relationship Breakdown

Family disputes, separation, divorce, or being asked to leave the family home can all contribute to homelessness.

5. Domestic Abuse

Many people become homeless after leaving an unsafe home. Domestic abuse is recognised as a significant cause of homelessness, particularly among women and children.

6. Eviction

People may become homeless if they are evicted from rented accommodation and cannot find suitable alternative housing.

7. Mental Health Challenges

Mental health difficulties can affect a person's ability to maintain housing, employment, and relationships. Homelessness can also have a negative impact on mental wellbeing.

8. Substance Misuse

Substance misuse can contribute to housing instability for some people. However, it is important to recognise that addiction may also develop as a result of the trauma and stress associated with homelessness.

9. Leaving Institutions

People leaving prison, hospital, care, or the armed forces may face housing difficulties if suitable accommodation is not arranged before they leave.

10. Social Exclusion and Discrimination

Some groups face additional barriers when accessing housing, employment, and support services, increasing their risk of homelessness

At The Society of St James:

We are committed to empowering people experiencing homelessness through person centred support, safe accommodation, and pathways to lasting independence. Working together to create meaningful, long term change for those experiencing homelessness.

What Is Rough Sleeping? Understanding the Difference Between Rough Sleeping and Homelessness

Fahim Miah — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:32:14 +0000

Many people use the terms rough sleeping and homelessness interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Understanding the difference is important when discussing housing issues and the support available to vulnerable individuals.

What Is Rough Sleeping?

It is someone who has no access to safe, stable accommodation and spends the night in public spaces or other unsuitable locations.

Rough sleeping is often the most visible form of homelessness, but it represents only a portion of the wider homeless population.

Homelessness vs Rough Sleeping

When comparing homelessness vs rough sleeping, it's important to recognise that not everyone experiencing homelessness sleeps rough.

A person may be considered homeless if they:

Are staying in temporary accommodation or emergency shelters
Are sofa surfing with friends or family
Live in hostels or supported housing
Face imminent eviction with nowhere else to go
Live in accommodation that is unsafe or unsuitable

However, a rough sleeper is specifically someone sleeping outside or in places not intended for living.

Key Difference

Homelessness is a broad term covering anyone without a secure, permanent home.
Rough sleeping is a specific form of homelessness where a person sleeps outdoors or in unsuitable locations.

This means that while all rough sleepers are homeless, not all homeless people are rough sleepers.

Why Understanding Rough Sleeping Matters

People who are rough sleeping often face increased risks to their physical and mental health. Exposure to harsh weather, lack of access to healthcare, personal safety concerns, and social isolation can make it difficult to move forward without support.

Recognising the signs of rough sleeping helps communities, charities, and local services provide timely assistance and connect individuals with accommodation, healthcare, and long term support.

Supporting People Experiencing Rough Sleeping

Addressing rough sleeping requires more than simply providing shelter. Many individuals need ongoing support with housing, employment, health services, financial difficulties, and rebuilding social connections.

By understanding the difference between homelessness and rough sleeping, we can better appreciate the challenges people face and help ensure support reaches those who need it most.

The SSJ Academy

Fahim Miah — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:05:08 +0000

At The Society of St James, we believe that meaningful opportunities can be life-changing. The SSJ Academy supports residents and service users experiencing homelessness and related issues, by offering a comprehensive programme of meaningful activities, educational pathways, and volunteering opportunities. Designed to empower people to improve their physical, mental, and social wellbeing, The Academy helps individuals build confidence, develop new skills, and take positive steps towards lasting independence and brighter futures.

Re-Fit

Re-Fit focuses on improving physical and mental wellbeing through sports, hobbies, and a variety of engaging activities. By encouraging people to stay active, try something new, and connect with others, participants can reduce isolation, build trusting relationships, boost self-esteem, and improve their overall health and wellbeing.

Re-Set

Re-Set provides access to accredited courses and learning opportunities that help people develop valuable life skills, gain recognised qualifications, and build confidence. Whether learning practical skills or working towards personal goals, participants are supported to create new opportunities for education, employment, and independent living.

Re-Connect

Re-Connect offers volunteering opportunities that help individuals gain valuable experience, develop transferable skills, and enhance their employability. Volunteering also provides a chance to rebuild confidence, establish positive routines, and reconnect with their local community, creating meaningful relationships and a renewed sense of purpose.

The SSJ Academy is about more than learning new skills – it's about creating opportunities, building confidence, and helping people move forward with purpose. Whether through education, meaningful activities, or volunteering, every step taken can make a lasting difference.

If you'd like to find out more about the SSJ Academy or explore how you can get involved, we'd love to hear from you. Whether you're interested in volunteering, partnering with us, or supporting our work, get in touch with our team today and help us continue empowering people to transform their lives.

Email: academy@ssj.org.uk

Phone: 023 8063 4596

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Support Service

Fahim Miah — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:36:11 +0000

The Society of St James offers guidance and support to clients across Hampshire and our services. With the main support teams being in Portsmouth and Southampton our mental health teams empower people to make positive change. Our team consist of clinical psychologists and mental health support workers who are passionate about providing quality, one to one support.

We use a trauma informed approach in order to facilitate long lasting change. SSJ work with individuals who are hard to reach and struggle to access mainstream services. At the Society of St James we bring psychology into the workplace to help support staff, teams and clients through individual sessions, group training, and reflective practice. This helps create a healthy and happy work environment.

Our Mental Health support service promotes self-confidence. This enables clients to build and maintain positive relationships, as well as develop resilience and emotional regulation. We help clients decide for themselves to take steps to change engaging in talks and rehab. Also, offering guidance to ultimately find a job and rebuild independence.

Mental health and Homelessness

There is a lot of links between poor mental health and homelessness:

Conditions like depression and anxiety can make it harder to maintain housing. Homelessness itself often worsens mental health. Many individuals have experienced abuse, neglect, or significant life events. This means mental health support needs to be trauma-informed. Some people use drugs or alcohol to cope with mental distress, which can create a cycle that’s hard to break without proper support. People experiencing homelessness are much more likely to struggle with mental health issues.

Key facts about our service:

Our mental health and wellbeing team have a total of 130 plus clients alongside 9 members of staff.
The team operates throughout the supported housing pathway covering a variety of different projects within SSJ.
The team will follow clients that have moved on from their accommodation to help support the smooth transition.
Staff will provide support during a crisis, provide intervention and signpost where needed. And give that listening ear making the client feel heard and supported.
In the last 3 months 256 1:1 sessions were attended.
Within the last 3 months The Mental Health and Wellbeing team have worked alongside projects to enable 39 Clients to retain their accommodation.

Our main focus:

The main focus of the service is to provide emotional support and reassurance to navigate change or overcome difficult events; seek to reduce anti-social behaviour and assist individuals to learn and develop coping skills to manage their mental wellbeing. The service will aim reduce anxieties and equip them for independence; build relationships and trust with the overarching aim of minimising mental health crisis and strain on emergency services.

The team identify positive change and signpost clients to relevant agencies offering mental health wellbeing support, mindfulness and activities; and increase level of engagement with mental health services and partnered agencies.

Our service is committed to providing mental health and wellbeing support that is grounded in key values essential to effective and compassionate practice, collaboration and respect. Our support is based on a holistic and person-centred approach, guided by trauma informed care, unconditional positive regard focusing on what works and working together to make our clients lived experiences valuable.

From service user to staff member: Mo’s journey with SSJ

Lucy Potts — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:00:00 +0000

See Mo’s full story here

At The Society of St James (SSJ), we believe that everyone deserves a chance to rebuild their life, and Mo’s story is a powerful example of what’s possible when the right support meets unwavering determination.

Mo first came to SSJ as a service user, facing challenges that many of the people we support experience instability, uncertainty, and a need for someone to believe in her.

But Mo’s journey didn’t stop there. With the encouragement and guidance of our staff, she began volunteering with SSJ. Giving her time, energy and compassion to others who were going through similar struggles, she quickly became a vital part of our community.

That experience lit a spark and today, Mo is a paid member of the SSJ team, delivering local sports sessions that promote wellbeing, confidence, and connection.

Her transformation isn’t just professional, it’s deeply personal. As Mo says:

“SSJ recognised me for me.”

This simple, powerful statement captures what we aim to do at SSJ every day: to see the person beyond the circumstances, to offer not just help, but opportunity.

Mo’s story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the importance of support services that invest in people’s potential.

If you’d like to get involved in our 2025 Christmas campaign here more stories like Mo’s and support us to continue to help people with building positive futures then please visit; ssj.org.uk/chritsmas25/.

🎄 Raechel’s Story: “my whole life is beyond what I ever imagined…”

Lucy Potts — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 09:00:00 +0000

“I can’t put into 30 seconds what difference this has made… my whole life is beyond whatever I could have put pen to paper and thought how it was going to be. And that’s it. This is because the Society of St James gave me a chance with employment.”
– Raechel, SSJ staff member

Raechel’s words speak volumes.

She came to us with lived experience and was given something many people in her position are often denied: a chance. Today, Raechel is a proud member of our team, using her experiences to support others.

Her story is just one example of the impact your support can have.

At Society of St James, we believe in second chances, and third, and fourth, and as many chances as a person needs. We believe people are more than their circumstances. And when someone is given the right support, stability, and opportunity, incredible things can happen.

This winter, we’re calling on our community to get involved in our Christmas Campaign as we aim to raise vital funds to continue this life-changing work, locally.

With your help, we can:

Offer safe, warm housing
Create pathways into employment, just like Raechel’s
Bring bespoke and tailored support.

Coming soon: Raechel’s full story

We’ll be sharing Raechel’s full journey as part of our Christmas Advent Calendar, which is launching on 1st December.

Every day in December, we’ll open a new “door” to reveal real stories from people connected to SSJ, including service users, staff, volunteers and supporters.

Get involved today

You can help make more stories like Raechel’s possible.

Donate to support our £80,000 Christmas campaign
Sign up to our newsletter to receive exclusive Advent Calendar updates
Share Raechel’s story to spread the message
Fundraise or volunteer in your local area

click the link to get involved – https://ssj.org.uk/christmas25/

Be part of the solution to ending homelessness locally this Christmas.

🎁 Be the first to open our Advent Calendar – Sign up for exclusive updates!

Lucy Potts — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 09:00:00 +0000

This Christmas, we’re inviting you to be part of something truly special.

Starting 1st December, we’ll be sharing our Christmas Advent Calendar, powerful and personal stories from the people who make our work possible: service users, staff, volunteers, and supporters.

Each day, a new story will be revealed, stories from people whose lives have been transformed, our amazing staff, supporters and volunteers. But there’s more…

Get more than just a daily door

By signing up to our newsletter you will see more than just our advent calandar. You’ll get:

Exclusive sneak peeks before the doors open to the public
Behind-the-scenes moments and bloopers
Updates and insights you won’t find anywhere else
A closer look at the people behind the campaign

This is our way of saying thank you and giving you a front-row seat to the impact your support makes possible.

Be the First to Know

We want our newsletter subscribers to be the first to experience the heart of this campaign.

So if you haven’t already, make sure you’re signed up as soon as possible.

Sign up here: https://ssj.org.uk/newsletter/

Help us end homelessness locally this Christmas.

🎄 Take on the SSJ 25-Day Advent Challenge this December

Lucy Potts — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Looking for something fun, festive and meaningful to do this December? Whether you’re an individual, a family, a workplace, or part of a school or community group — The Society of St James invites you to take on the SSJ 25-Day Advent Challenge.

From 1st to 25th December, you’ll complete 24 mini daily challenges, from light-hearted festive fun to acts of kindness and awareness-raising, followed by one final day to reflect on the impact you’ve made.

It’s completely free to take part, and everyone’s welcome!

Why Take Part?

The challenge isn’t just about festive fun (although there’s plenty of that!). It’s also a way to do something truly meaningful this Christmas.

We’re aiming to raise £80,000 to support people in our local community who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Your involvement, whether you’re raising funds or simply spreading awareness, helps us provide safe accommodation, tailored, bespoke support, and the chance for people to rebuild their lives.

Who Can Join?

Absolutely anyone.

Individuals looking for a new way to give back
Families who want to make December more meaningful
Schools and youth groups building kindness into the classroom
Workplaces looking for a festive, team-building challenge
Friends or flatmates doing something together for a good cause

Whether you take part on your own or with others, every action adds up to something bigger.

What’s Involved?

Each day from 1st to 24th December, you’ll complete a fun or thoughtful mini challenge, it could be a silly dare, a random act of kindness, a way to raise awareness or show support. Then on the 25th, you take a moment to reflect on the difference you’ve made.

We’ll provide a downloadable calendar packed with ideas, or you can get creative and make it your own!

How to Take Part

Download the FREE Advent Challenge calendar → [Insert Link]
Set up a fundraising page via JustGiving and choose The Society of St James as your charity to raise money for.
Invite your friends, family, school, workplace or group to join in
Start your challenge on 1st December
Share your journey on social media using #SSJAdventChallenge
Download our [Fundraising and Social Media Packs] to make it easy!

It’s easy to get started — and every small act adds up to real impact.

Real Change. Real Impact.

Every day you take part, you’re not just having fun, you’re helping change lives.

By getting involved in the SSJ 25-Day Advent Challenge, you’ll help us:

Raise vital funds to support our £80,000 target
Provide safe housing and practical support for people pushed into homelessness
Raise awareness of homelessness in our local communities
Build a stronger, more compassionate community, together

Ready to Get Started?

Download your Advent Calendar
Set up your JustGiving page
Don’t forget to share your challenge using #SSJAdventChallenge

Whether you’re taking part for fun, fundraising, or both, your actions will help us bring hope, support, and lasting change to people Christmas.

Thank you for being part of the journey to end homelessness locally.

Changing the conversation: myths vs Facts about homelessness this Christmas

Lucy Potts — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 09:00:00 +0000

This Christmas, we’re asking you to pause, reflect, and look a little closer.

Homelessness is often misunderstood and those misunderstandings can create harmful myths and stigma. That’s why we’re shining a light on the real stories behind the statistics, and the truths behind the myths.

By learning the facts, we can create compassion.
By changing the conversation, we can change lives.

As part of our £80,000 campaign to end homelessness locally this Christmas, we’ve put together a series of common myths and the facts that challenge them.

Myth: Homelessness is only when people rough sleep.
Truth: People who are sofa-surfing, trapped in unsafe housing, or at risk of losing their home are also considered homeless.

Myth: Homelessness is not local.
Truth: Last Christmas 200+ people slept rough in Hampshire alone.

Myth: People choose to be homeless.
Truth: People can be pushed into a broken system. Homelessness is a complex issue with often complex causes.

Myth: My small donation won’t matter or won’t make a difference.
Truth: Just £10 could provide a Christmas meal and gift for a resident.

Myth: People don’t want help.
Truth: People often have a lot of trauma, mistrust, fear, or past negative experiences that can make it hard for someone to engage, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want support.

Help us be part of the solution

This winter, we’re aiming to raise £80,000 to provide urgent support, safe accommodation, and opportunities to people experiencing homelessness right here in our community.

You can be part of this, whether by donating, fundraising, volunteering, or simply spreading the word.

Click here to find out more about how you can get involved.

Exploring homelessness: a day in the life at the SSJ academy

Lucy Potts — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Homelessness is rarely caused by just one thing. Often, it’s linked to trauma, substance use, poor mental health, or lack of opportunity. At the Society of St James (SSJ), we take a person-centred approach to helping people rebuild their lives by offering support that meets them where they are.

In the final part of our Exploring Homelessness series, we’re spending the day with the SSJ Academy, a service that gives people space to grow, learn, and take steps towards a more secure and fulfilling future.

A community built on second chances

The SSJ Academy isn’t a traditional classroom. It’s a flexible programme that offers support with sport, education, volunteering, and employment all running at the same time across Hampshire.

People can get involved in different activities based on what they need and what they are ready for. Someone might be doing a sports session, attending a life skills workshop, and getting help to find a job or volunteer role all in the same week.

It’s all about giving people the right support, in the right way, at the right time helping them grow in confidence and build a better future.

Personalised support every step of the way

The Academy is led by a team of dedicated staff and peer mentors many with lived experience of homelessness or recovery themselves. This creates a safe, understanding space where people are treated as individuals and supported without judgment.

Each person’s journey is different. Some might want to build their skills before returning to work. Others might be rebuilding their self-esteem after a tough time. Staff work closely with every participant to set personal goals and help them take the steps needed to reach them.

More than just skills

For many, the Academy isn’t just about learning – it’s about rebuilding their identity and sense of purpose. Whether someone is in recovery, recently housed, or taking their first steps away from crisis, the Academy offers stability, structure, and encouragement.

It helps people reconnect with themselves, with others, and with a future they might not have thought possible.

Why it matters

In a world where people experiencing homelessness are often left behind, the SSJ Academy shows what’s possible when we offer long-term, joined-up support. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach – it’s tailored, flexible, and focused on real, lasting change.

The Academy also works closely with other SSJ services, creating a clear pathway from crisis to stability to independence.

How you can help

Spread awareness
Share this blog to help challenge stigma around homelessness, recovery, and mental health.

Donate
Support our work by making a donation. Every contribution helps us keep vital services like the Academy running.

Stay connected
Sign up to our newsletter to hear more about the work happening across SSJ. https://ssj.org.uk/newsletter/

Together, we can make sure no one is left behind, and that everyone has the chance to move forward.

About this series

Exploring Homelessness is a 3-part blog and video series taking you behind the scenes of the work we do at the Society of St James:

Part 1: Inside our Portsmouth Rough Sleeping Support Service
Part 2: A day with Kelly from our Homeless Drug & Alcohol Team
Part 3: A look inside the SSJ Academy

Thank you being apart of the solution to ending homelessness locally.

To learn more, visit: https://ssj.org.uk/sub-service/ssj-academy/