SINGAPORE: Long-term homelessness in Singapore is “more complex and diverse than previously assumed”, with contributing factors accumulating across childhood, adulthood and old age, a new study has found.
The study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) also found that these stressors are associated more with single-parent families and those facing marital breakdown, which place them at a higher risk of becoming homeless in the long term.
At-risk youths were also found to be particularly vulnerable to homelessness, especially those who experienced early school dropout, family instability and youth delinquency.
The findings of the three-year study were released on Friday (Jan 9) alongside an announcement by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) of its 2025 street count for rough sleepers.
MSF also announced more support measures to tackle the homelessness issue, including a S$450,000 (US$349,896) fund to help organisations trial initiatives.
Homeless persons are distinct from rough sleepers, who are individuals sleeping in public spaces and may still have housing or a home they can return to.
Among other things, the IPS study found that homelessness was rarely triggered by a single event, and can be the result of income loss, family breakdown, poor health, abuse and incarceration.
It also highlighted how family structure and challenges from different life stages shaped people’s exposure to multiple and overlapping stressors over time.
Commissioned by MSF, the three-year study, which ran in three phases from 2021 to 2024, traced how people fell into a state of homelessness and the challenges they faced in exiting it.
Researchers also called for a “paradigm shift” away from policies that intervene in homelessness towards those that prevent it from occurring in the first place.
They also suggested ways to enhance the experience of rough sleepers staying in temporary shelters, as well as other moves that would reduce the structural barriers to exiting homelessness.
Dr Harry Tan, principal investigator of the IPS study, said the researchers embarked on the study to answer a “simple yet puzzling” question of why some homeless people sleep outdoors for such long periods.
“Long-term homelessness is a key challenge for governments, researchers, and outreach volunteers in Singapore and around the world, and the issues are often complex, unfolding across different stages of life.
“While policies are in place, tackling homelessness requires the efforts of government, community groups, and society as a whole,” Dr Tan said.
The first phase of the study was conducted between August 2021 and April 2022, which coincided with the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It involved interviews with 50 people who had experienced homelessness and were admitted to shelters during the pandemic.
Of these, 34 were individuals and 16 were families. Most were male, divorced or separated, and nearly all were Singapore citizens.
All respondents in the first phase of the study were found to have experienced multiple stressors, with more than 50 per cent experiencing five or more stressors in their lives.
More than 30 per cent of respondents cited income loss, low education, family conflict and marital conflict as key challenges.
Participants who were separated, divorced, or widowed experienced approximately five different types of stressors, compared with four stressors among those who were married or single.
Those who were separated and undergoing divorce proceedings, as well as those who were widowed at the time of the interview, also had a higher number of stressors, ranging from four to seven per person.
Single-parent families experienced the highest number of stressors. The study found that they experienced an average of seven stressors, higher than other family types.
The study found that all family types experienced income loss, low education, family conflict, marital conflict, unemployment and had financially dependent children.
“Only single-parent families experienced mental health and domestic abuse stressors, and only intact Singaporean families experienced stressors relating to poor health and elder caregiving,” the report said.
Homelessness was found to rarely be the result of a single action or event in people’s lives, it added.
Nonetheless, most participants’ first experience of homelessness was either rough sleeping, at 49 per cent, or unstable informal accommodation, at 46 per cent.
Drawing on the varied family dynamics and stressors faced by the interviewed families, IPS identified several distinct pathways that show how a person can end up in long-term homelessness.
Some of the pathways showed the breakdown of spousal relationships through divorce or separation, as well as spousal abuse.
Some participants in the study had entered homelessness immediately after divorce or separation and lacked the resources or support to secure alternative housing. Out of seven participants in the sample, five had been homeless since before the pandemic.
Those who experienced spousal abuse often end up in recurring episodes of homelessness if they remain with their spouses.
In the next two phases of the study, carried out from September 2022 to May 2024, researchers conducted interviews and participant observations with 41 participants.
They had either experienced, or were currently experiencing, homelessness for at least a year, or had undergone multiple episodes of homelessness that together amounted to at least a year.
Of these, 28 were individuals and 13 were families.
Researchers identified how the multiple stressors that people experience in different stages of their lives could lead to homelessness.
Findings showed that in childhood and up to the age of 20, factors such as growing up in low-income households, low educational attainment, family conflict and the death of a caregiver could increase the risk of homelessness.
These challenges were found to push some individuals into homelessness from a young age.
The study then examined two homelessness typologies - those who spend most of the time rough sleeping, and those who were housed in temporary shelters.
The former category of homeless persons often faced challenges meeting basic needs and needed to cope with poor physical and mental health.
The study found that they were entrenched in “homeless subculture behaviours”, such as drinking and begging.
For those who stay in shelters, the study flagged difficulties with co-living and safety concerns.
“However, due to the precarious and unsustainable nature of informal accommodations, and because their social networks were often tenuous or fractured, these stays were often short-lived,” said the report.
This led to subsequent rough sleeping or a search for other forms of shelter.
The study found that social service networks, employment and available housing options played prominent roles in helping homeless persons transition into long-term housing.
“Social work interventions during the early stages of homelessness helped prevent rough sleeping and enabled access to homeless shelters, ensuring that homelessness is transitional and sheltered,” IPS said.
Access to sufficient and clear information provided by the social service network, helped participants find public rental flats under the HDB scheme.
Gaining employment also gave participants a regular income and built their personal savings, which in turn gave them an option to rent on the open market, or own a home in a few cases.
Despite the support given to participants to help them transition out of homelessness, the study proposed a mindset shift from intervention to prevention in homelessness policymaking.
It put forward three proposals for consideration.
The first is early intervention to prevent the onset of homelessness and to identify at-risk individuals, while another proposal is to strengthen coordination for social service networks, employment and housing to help homeless persons exit their situation.
The final proposal is to enhance shelters so as to encourage rough sleepers to seek support early.
This can be achieved by improving awareness of what is available to help homeless persons, and upgrading shelter designs, said IPS.
Efforts are also needed to boost the shelter workforce, including strengthening conflict management and mediation training among staff, the think tank added.
“We also recommend increasing the headcount of staff in shelters so as to implement shift work schedules, and thus provide round-the-clock assistance to shelter users,” said the researchers.
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The study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) also found that these stressors are associated more with single-parent families and those facing marital breakdown, which place them at a higher risk of becoming homeless in the long term.
At-risk youths were also found to be particularly vulnerable to homelessness, especially those who experienced early school dropout, family instability and youth delinquency.
The findings of the three-year study were released on Friday (Jan 9) alongside an announcement by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) of its 2025 street count for rough sleepers.
MSF also announced more support measures to tackle the homelessness issue, including a S$450,000 (US$349,896) fund to help organisations trial initiatives.
Homeless persons are distinct from rough sleepers, who are individuals sleeping in public spaces and may still have housing or a home they can return to.
Among other things, the IPS study found that homelessness was rarely triggered by a single event, and can be the result of income loss, family breakdown, poor health, abuse and incarceration.
It also highlighted how family structure and challenges from different life stages shaped people’s exposure to multiple and overlapping stressors over time.
Commissioned by MSF, the three-year study, which ran in three phases from 2021 to 2024, traced how people fell into a state of homelessness and the challenges they faced in exiting it.
Researchers also called for a “paradigm shift” away from policies that intervene in homelessness towards those that prevent it from occurring in the first place.
They also suggested ways to enhance the experience of rough sleepers staying in temporary shelters, as well as other moves that would reduce the structural barriers to exiting homelessness.
Related:
Dr Harry Tan, principal investigator of the IPS study, said the researchers embarked on the study to answer a “simple yet puzzling” question of why some homeless people sleep outdoors for such long periods.
“Long-term homelessness is a key challenge for governments, researchers, and outreach volunteers in Singapore and around the world, and the issues are often complex, unfolding across different stages of life.
“While policies are in place, tackling homelessness requires the efforts of government, community groups, and society as a whole,” Dr Tan said.
WHAT LEADS TO LONG-TERM HOMELESSNESS?
The first phase of the study was conducted between August 2021 and April 2022, which coincided with the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It involved interviews with 50 people who had experienced homelessness and were admitted to shelters during the pandemic.
Of these, 34 were individuals and 16 were families. Most were male, divorced or separated, and nearly all were Singapore citizens.
All respondents in the first phase of the study were found to have experienced multiple stressors, with more than 50 per cent experiencing five or more stressors in their lives.
More than 30 per cent of respondents cited income loss, low education, family conflict and marital conflict as key challenges.
Participants who were separated, divorced, or widowed experienced approximately five different types of stressors, compared with four stressors among those who were married or single.
Those who were separated and undergoing divorce proceedings, as well as those who were widowed at the time of the interview, also had a higher number of stressors, ranging from four to seven per person.
Single-parent families experienced the highest number of stressors. The study found that they experienced an average of seven stressors, higher than other family types.
The study found that all family types experienced income loss, low education, family conflict, marital conflict, unemployment and had financially dependent children.
“Only single-parent families experienced mental health and domestic abuse stressors, and only intact Singaporean families experienced stressors relating to poor health and elder caregiving,” the report said.
Homelessness was found to rarely be the result of a single action or event in people’s lives, it added.
Nonetheless, most participants’ first experience of homelessness was either rough sleeping, at 49 per cent, or unstable informal accommodation, at 46 per cent.
Drawing on the varied family dynamics and stressors faced by the interviewed families, IPS identified several distinct pathways that show how a person can end up in long-term homelessness.
Some of the pathways showed the breakdown of spousal relationships through divorce or separation, as well as spousal abuse.
Some participants in the study had entered homelessness immediately after divorce or separation and lacked the resources or support to secure alternative housing. Out of seven participants in the sample, five had been homeless since before the pandemic.
Those who experienced spousal abuse often end up in recurring episodes of homelessness if they remain with their spouses.
CHALLENGES AND ENABLERS IN EXITING HOMELESSNESS
In the next two phases of the study, carried out from September 2022 to May 2024, researchers conducted interviews and participant observations with 41 participants.
They had either experienced, or were currently experiencing, homelessness for at least a year, or had undergone multiple episodes of homelessness that together amounted to at least a year.
Of these, 28 were individuals and 13 were families.
Researchers identified how the multiple stressors that people experience in different stages of their lives could lead to homelessness.
Findings showed that in childhood and up to the age of 20, factors such as growing up in low-income households, low educational attainment, family conflict and the death of a caregiver could increase the risk of homelessness.
These challenges were found to push some individuals into homelessness from a young age.
The study then examined two homelessness typologies - those who spend most of the time rough sleeping, and those who were housed in temporary shelters.
The former category of homeless persons often faced challenges meeting basic needs and needed to cope with poor physical and mental health.
The study found that they were entrenched in “homeless subculture behaviours”, such as drinking and begging.
For those who stay in shelters, the study flagged difficulties with co-living and safety concerns.
“However, due to the precarious and unsustainable nature of informal accommodations, and because their social networks were often tenuous or fractured, these stays were often short-lived,” said the report.
This led to subsequent rough sleeping or a search for other forms of shelter.
The study found that social service networks, employment and available housing options played prominent roles in helping homeless persons transition into long-term housing.
“Social work interventions during the early stages of homelessness helped prevent rough sleeping and enabled access to homeless shelters, ensuring that homelessness is transitional and sheltered,” IPS said.
Access to sufficient and clear information provided by the social service network, helped participants find public rental flats under the HDB scheme.
Gaining employment also gave participants a regular income and built their personal savings, which in turn gave them an option to rent on the open market, or own a home in a few cases.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Despite the support given to participants to help them transition out of homelessness, the study proposed a mindset shift from intervention to prevention in homelessness policymaking.
It put forward three proposals for consideration.
The first is early intervention to prevent the onset of homelessness and to identify at-risk individuals, while another proposal is to strengthen coordination for social service networks, employment and housing to help homeless persons exit their situation.
The final proposal is to enhance shelters so as to encourage rough sleepers to seek support early.
This can be achieved by improving awareness of what is available to help homeless persons, and upgrading shelter designs, said IPS.
Efforts are also needed to boost the shelter workforce, including strengthening conflict management and mediation training among staff, the think tank added.
“We also recommend increasing the headcount of staff in shelters so as to implement shift work schedules, and thus provide round-the-clock assistance to shelter users,” said the researchers.
Related:
Continue reading...