Homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic: homeless migrants in a global crisis

People experiencing homelessness are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. This project, involving researchers from University of Portsmouth, University of Sussex and St Mungo's, the homelessness charity, will produce an 18-month qualitative-based study of migrant homelessness during the crisis. A particular focus of the study will be the experience of non-UK nationals. Government efforts have helped provide emergency accommodation for thousands of homeless people during the crisis, but concerns remain about how homeless migrants with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) can be supported in the longer-term. Many homeless migrants face multiple everyday challenges; they experience the hostility and aggression directed toward homeless people, compounded with often intense experiences of racism. A cultural miasma of fear and anxiety due to pandemic can affect such vulnerable minority groups particularly forcefully. Our project will innovate by examining the biographical and life history narratives of St Mungo's clients in relation to their experiences of homelessness during the coronavirus crisis. In doing so, we will examine the intersection of personal histories, wider social structures and the dynamics of the particular situation. While much of the research on homelessness is nationally specific, we will examine the crisis with a global perspective, one that identifies the complex global processes that underpin homelessness as well as the coronavirus. Based on its findings, and working with St Mungo's partners, the project will make recommendations for measures that can be taken across the UK and elsewhere to support migrant groups facing homelessness, during times of crisis and beyond.