It has been a busy few months for the I-SPHERE, Heriot Watt team. Here are just some of the highlights.
Our latest research
Destitution by design: Righting the wrongs of UK immigration policy
If you live in Scotland, you may have heard in the news recently some of the shocking findings from I-SPHERE’s evaluation of Fair Way Scotland, about the scale of destitution facing people living without recourse to public funds in Scotland. Do read the headlines and full report here, catch up on Beth Watts-Cobbe and Rhiannon Sims talking about the report and please join us in our call for UK and Scottish Government to stop passing the buck and take urgent action to address destitution and homelessness for this group.
Prevention is central to ending homelessness! Last month we published research with Cardiff University for Homeless Link which reveals the gaps and opportunities in homelessness prevention. To discover why shifting focus upstream is crucial, read the full report here.
Our team continues to work on the Crisis Homelessness Monitor – the most authoritative research on homelessness trends in the UK. The latest edition focused on Wales is in the final stages of production and will be published soon.
Professor Beth Watts-Cobbe who leads the work will be reflecting on the monitor’s role in the policy making process to the Housing Studies Association HSA Autumn Lecture 2024: Demystifying the world of policy | Housing Studies Association (housing-studies-association.org)
Homelessness amongst Black and Minoritised Ethnic Communities in the UK
This major knowledge and capacity building programme, which is possible thanks to the support of Oak Foundation, continues to propel a fundamental step change in the UK evidence base on homelessness amongst people from Black and minoritised ethnic groups in the UK. In May we published Taking a race and ethnicity lens to conceptualisations of homelessness in England This research, carried out with the Runnymede Trust, explores what homelessness means for different ethnic groups and the additional issues some face in accessing housing and support.
Our second intern Christiana (Roni) Ajai-Thomas’ report Young Black People’s Experiences of Homelessness in London, unveils the stark realities faced by young Black Londoners experiencing homelessness. Read their stories and our recommendations for change here.
I-SPHERE are excited to be part of No Wrong Door Scotland. This 2-year programme is testing ways to create integrated services for those facing multiple disadvantages like poverty, trauma, and homelessness. Let’s make cross-sector support a reality!
And finally, the I-SPHERE team have been cheering on from afar the teams who were participating in this year’s Homeless World Cup in Seoul in September. You can catch up on the action and some of the stories of the tournament on the Homeless World Cup website. I-SPHERE are working in partnership with the Homeless World Cup team as part of the Memorandum of Understanding with Heriot Watt University, Oriam and the Homeless World Cup Foundation. Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick supported the research conference held as part of the 2024 World Cup and we recently published The Story of Sacramento – Evaluation of the 2023 Homeless World Cup — Heriot-Watt Research Portal (hw.ac.uk) and are working with the team to continue to help them maximise the positive impacts on individuals and on efforts to address homelessness.
Seminars
This semester we launched a new online seminar programme in partnership with the University of Edinburgh Centre for Homelessness and Inclusion Health. The next seminar is on Monday 21st October when Professor Andrea Williamson from the University of Glasgow will present on Applying a ‘missingness’ lens to healthcare for inclusion health populations. Find out more and sign up I-SPHERE and CHIH October Seminar – I-SPHERE (hw.ac.uk) For our November seminar Dr Amy Claire will be joining us from the University of Adelaide to talk about her work on Housing, Health and Policy Coherence I-SPHERE and CHIH November Seminar – I-SPHERE (hw.ac.uk)
And if you missed the brilliant seminars by Dr Fran Calvo on smoking and homelessness and David Christie on homelessness under New Labour or indeed our own Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick with Dr Peter Mackie of Cardiff University on homelessness prevention, fear not – as you can watch the seminars again at your leisure on the seminar section of our website.
Team News
We are delighted to have welcomed two brilliant new research associates to our team. Rhiannon Sims joined us from Crisis earlier this year and Nadia Ayed joined us in the summer from the Centre for Homelessness Impact.
We also welcomed two new PhD students – Frank Johnstone Didymus and Peter Boyd-Piercy. Frank’s research focus is on the role of the healthcare workforce in homelessness prevention. Peter’s research focuses on how the construct of ‘personality disorder’ impacts women experiencing homelessness, substance misuse problems and involvement in the criminal justice system. Both come with a wealth of experience and are hitting the ground running with their valuable research.
Two members of the team recently received well deserved academic promotions. Huge congratulations to now ‘Professor’ Beth Watts-Cobbe and ‘Research Fellow’ Dr Lynne McMordie.
Congratulations also to Nifemi Adesina, our Research intern, who is about to complete an important new study with us as part of our Homelessness Amongst Black and Minoritised Communities research programme and has accepted a PhD scholarship at Newcastle University. Nifemi has been a joyful and valued member of our team this year and has an extremely bright career ahead of her!
In terms of external appointments, in June Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick was appointed to the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission. Read more about the appointment and the important work of the commission here.
Further Information
This was just a snapshot of the work we are involved in – for more information on our team and our research check out our website and you can follow us on X and Linked In.
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