Please note: This inquiry is now closed for submissions. It was open 13 April – 20 May 2022.

Following on from the APPGEH’s last inquiry where we heard from over 65 individuals with direct experience of homelessness and using Housing First services, we are very keen to hear from people who have experienced homelessness in this inquiry by Friday 20 May.

We have created a list of questions to help us understand people’s experiences of sleeping rough and other kinds of homelessness. Please feel free to answer as many or as few of these as you like, depending on what you’re comfortable sharing, and what questions are relevant to your experiences.

Your answers to the below questions will provide important evidence for our inquiry and help make the case that action must be taken to ensure rough sleeping is ended in England for good.

Please complete this form prior to answering the below questions.

All the information we collect is stored securely and is treated confidentially and will only be used with your consent. Please see here for more information on Crisis’ privacy policy.

If you have experience of being homeless, we would very much welcome your answers to the below questions

1. Your experiences of homelessness support/services
1. Please give us a bit of background about what experience of homelessness you have
2. Did you seek out any support before becoming homeless?
1. If so, who did you try and get help from? For example, friends and family, local organisations/services, work, Citizens Advice Bureau.
2. What was good or bad about this support – how did it help or not help?
3. Did you seek out any support after becoming homeless?
1. If so, who did you go to? For example, the council, local charity, friends and family, Citizens Advice, outreach street support, Streetlink, member of the public, police, other emergency services, GP/health, day centre(s), hostel, charities.
2. What were you hoping and expecting when you were seeking help?
4. Thinking about your experiences of support you received:
1. What worked well? For example, a particular organisation, or type of support.
2. What did not work well? For example, finding suitable affordable accommodation, COVID restrictions while receiving support
5. Looking back, what immediate support would you have liked when first becoming homeless and/or sleeping rough?
6. What longer term support would you have liked? For example, benefit advice, support to access accommodation, employment support, health/well-being support, family mediation, immigration advice.

2. Your experiences during the COVID pandemic
1. Did you receive any support during the COVID pandemic?
1. If so, what was this? (accommodation, linking into other support services or something else)
2. If you were accommodated, what was this (hotel, b&b, other) and what was this like? If good or bad, please explain why?
3. Do you know whether this help was part of the Everybody In initiative?
2. If you have experienced homelessness before COVID and during it, how did your experiences of being homeless during the pandemic and Everybody In compare to your experiences before COVID? Was support available any better or worse and what made it better or worse?
3. If you were found somewhere to live during the COVID pandemic, were you found any move-on accommodation? Did the support you receive continue or change in any way?

3. Recommendations:
1. In the General Election in 2019, the Government committed to ending rough sleeping in England by 2024. What do you think they should do to make this happen?
2. Why is it important the Government sticks to its commitment to end rough sleeping? Please explain your answer in your own words.
3. What one thing would you like to see improved in the support people experiencing homelessness are offered?

 Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Please email them to Emily Batchelor at emily.batchelor@crisis.org.uk and appg@crisis.org.uk by 20 May 2022.