Racism and Homelessness: Understanding Inequality in the UK

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Racism can increase the risk of homelessness

Homelessness can be caused by a variety of factors such as poverty, job insecurity, rising housing costs and a lack of affordable homes. This is true for everyone, but due to racial inequality, certain communities are more vulnerable to experiencing conditions that could lead to homelessness.

Key statistics

Data compiled by Single Homeless Project highlights some of the inequalities experienced by ethnic minority communities in England.

• In England, Black people are four times more likely to experience homelessness than white people
• Black households make up around 4% of England’s population but account for 10.2% of households applying for homelessness support
• Pakistani and Bangladeshi households are around seven times more likely to live in overcrowded housing than white households

These figures show that inequalities begin long before someone loses their home. Higher rates of overcrowded and insecure accommodation raise the chances of being in unstable housing conditions. Together with other inequalities in income, employment and affordable housing, they leave some ethnic minority communities facing a much greater risk of homelessness.

Racism can affect how people experience services

Everyone should feel able to access support when they need it. However, previous experiences of racism or discrimination can make it harder for some people trust the services that are there to help, or make them feel uncomfortable accessing these services.

Speaking at our 2026 Frontline Network Annual Conference, Mutsa Mhende, Racial Justice Practitioner from National Ugly Mugs, told us:

“Concerns about racism might shape someone’s experience of healthcare, especially medical racism. Concerns about immigration enforcement might shape someone’s willingness to engage with support services.”

In some cases, concerns about discrimination or immigration enforcement can make seeking help feel risky rather than reassuring. For others, past experiences of being judged, ignored or not taken seriously can make it hard to build trust with services, particularly if someone has already faced repeated discrimination elsewhere.

Mutsa Mhende also highlighted the importance of trust in effective support:

“Stigmatisation and criminalisation actively alienate people from services, and also trust is a precondition for everything. Those are the building blocks that we’re really going to be working on.”

Building trust takes time: it isn’t achieved simply by making services available. Instead, people must also feel confident in the belief that they will be treated fairly, listened to without judgement, and supported with respect. Creating services that recognise and respond to different experiences is a good way to ensure this happens.

Stigma and discrimination can affect how services respond

Racism is not always overt or deliberate. Sometimes it can become embedded in the systems and procedures of organisations and institutions, or everyday practices that create barriers for certain groups without anyone setting out to do so.

During our Conference session Hidden Identities, Hidden Needs, Mutsa Mhende discussed how this can affect people’s experiences of homelessness and support services:

“Stigma also operates institutionally, and it becomes embedded in practices, procedures, policies, eligibility criteria, and also organisational culture, without anyone consciously deciding to put it there.”

This can show up in different ways, from people feeling they’re treated differently or not believed, to unnecessary gatekeeping or assumptions based on stereotypes rather than individual circumstances.

“Different treatment, being disbelieved, excessive scrutiny, gatekeeping, those readiness assessments, pathologising language, unnecessary criminal justice involvement, and then also having your needs interpreted through stereotypes or through cliches.”

As Mutsa put it: “Even well-intentioned services can unintentionally reproduce exclusion, reproduce stigma, reproduce harm”. Reflecting on policies, listening to people’s experiences and ensuring staff understand how discrimination can affect someone’s journey are all important steps towards creating services that are fair and accessible for everyone.

The changing picture of homelessness

The growing diversity of people experiencing homelessness is also evident from London’s rough sleeping statistics. According to Trust for London, people from minority ethnic backgrounds now make up the majority (53%) of people sleeping rough in the capital. Although white people still form the largest ethnic group among rough sleepers, their proportion has dropped from 71% in 2011/12 to 46% in 2024/25. The proportion of Black people sleeping rough has also doubled since 2014/15, rising from 13% to 27%.

These figures show that homelessness is affecting increasingly diverse communities. Understanding these patterns can help services identify inequalities and make sure their approach reflects the experiences of the people they support.

Current tensions and the rise of the far right

In addition to these long-standing inequalities, many frontline workers are supporting people experiencing homelessness in an increasingly hostile environment towards refugees, migrants and members of ethnic minority groups.

At our recent Managing the Threat conference session, expert speakers discussed how increased activity from far-right groups and the spread of misinformation can affect both the people using services and the staff who support them. Reflecting on the violence seen in Belfast earlier this year, Stephen Morrison, Policy Lead at Housing Rights Northern Ireland, said: “The main reason given for a lot of the violence has been around anti-migrant sentiment and the far right.”

Misinformation about housing and homelessness can contribute to this hostility. For example, the speakers challenged the common myth that migrants, refugees or people seeking asylum receive priority for social housing. As Stephen Morrison explained:

“There’s a lot of myths being circulated about migrants or refugees, and asylum seekers being given priority on things like housing waiting lists… which is just not the case.”

Misinformation can make people feel less safe and discourage them from seeking support. It can also place additional pressure on frontline services. Challenging these myths and ensuring discussions about homelessness are based on evidence is an important part of building trust and creating services and communities where everyone feels able to access help when they need it.

Building services people can trust

Homelessness services have an important role to play in tackling these inequalities. Through listening and learning about people’s experiences, and through understanding the barriers faced by different groups, homelessness services can take practical steps towards becoming more inclusive and accessible.

This requires examining the processes and policies that currently exist within these services, questioning their own assumptions, and building environments which respect people and acknowledge their needs. It also means collaborating with people with lived experience to shape services, ensuring support is built around the needs of the communities it exists to serve.

As Mutsa Mhende reminded us during Hidden Identities, Hidden Needs:

“The communities most affected by stigma and criminalisation are actually not hard to reach. They are actively making rational decisions and rational risk assessments about who they can afford to trust. And what our collective responsibility is, as people who work in service of them, is to become worthy of that trust.”

By acknowledging inequality, challenging discrimination and continuing to build trust, we can create homelessness services which are fairer, more inclusive and better equipped to support everyone who needs them.