IN BRIEF
TERROR PREVENTION Efforts to counter terrorism are increasingly drawing upon community-based initiatives. A new study seeks to establish research collaboration between leading academics in the UK, US and Northern Ireland who have been examining community- police engagement and partnership in helping to prevent terror crime. Topics include implications for training and possible tensions between police and communities.
ESRC grant number RES-193-25-0004 - Connected Communities Cross-Council Programme
SECOND LANGUAGES A new project will establish a digital repository of instruments used for research into second language learning and teaching. This freely accessible repository, based at the University of York, will contain multimedia resources for a wide range of research areas, such as investigating how learning develops at different stages and documenting the contexts in which second languages are used and learned.
ESRC grant number RES-062-23-2946
MODEL PLANNING Development viability modelling has become an increasingly important component of policy formation at the local planning level and the delivery of affordable housing. This study will address the current lack of evaluation of the performance of development appraisal models in these areas and, in particular, investigate the extent to which existing models vary. ESRC grant number RES-000-22-4146
Childhood trauma triggers social exclusion
A NEW STUDY of some of the UK’s most socially excluded people finds a remarkably consistent story: childhood trauma, substance misuse and mental health problems very often precede the experience of homelessness, including rough sleeping, and other adverse life events. While housing- related problems may not generally be the starting point for many experiencing the most acute forms of social exclusion, the provision of stable housing is likely to be an essential element in ending it, says researcher Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick. Researchers explored the nature
and patterns of ‘Multiple Exclusion Homelessness’ (MEH) in seven UK cities. Professor Fitzpatrick explains: “People have experienced MEH as defined in our study if they have been homeless, including having experienced temporary/unsuitable accommodation as well as sleeping rough, and have also experienced one or more other domains of deep social exclusion: institutional care (prison, local authority care, mental health hospitals or wards); substance misuse (drug, alcohol, solvent or gas); or participation in street culture activities (begging, street drinking, ‘survival’ shoplifting or sex work).” Researchers surveyed more than 1,200 users of services such as street outreach teams, drop-in services, day centres and soup runs. Findings reveal that almost all of those surveyed
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(98 per cent) had experienced homelessness, but 70 per cent had also experienced substance misuse, 67 per cent street culture activities, and 62 per cent institutional care. The overlap was very high, with 47 per cent of service users having experienced all four domains of social exclusion studied. Among the MEH population, findings further show that those experiencing the most complex forms of MEH (eg, street homelessness, hard drugs, prison, and serious mental health problems) were often middle- aged men with a history of childhood trauma. “Policy emphasis and public sympathy often focus on younger and older homeless people, and on women who are homeless, but there is a ‘forgotten middle’ of men in their 30s who often face the most extreme forms of MEH,” says Professor Fitzpatrick. “Our evidence strongly supports the argument that there is a very high degree of intersection between deeply socially excluded groups”, she continues. “Hence, there is a pressing need to co-ordinate responses across all aspects of these people’s lives, rather than ‘view’ them through a series of separate ‘professional lenses’.” n
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Contact Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Heriot-Watt University Email
s.fitzpatrick@
hw.ac.uk Telephone 0131 451 8362 ESRC Grant Number RES-188-25-0023-A - Multiple Exclusion Homelessness Initiative
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