Listening to lived and frontline experience has never been more crucial. Our survey this year was completed by a record 1,320 frontline workers, enabling us to amplify their voices and allow them to help shape future policy and practice.
This year’s report, the 8th published, comes at a time when homelessness levels are stuck at near-record numbers. Rough sleeping has risen 20%, with 4,667 people estimated to be sleeping rough in England in Autumn 2024 compared to 3,898 the previous year. Meanwhile, 83,450 households in England qualified for homelessness support from their councils between January and March 2025. Our survey findings reflect these stark statistics.
Our 2025 survey has revealed that most frontline staff (85%) have seen an increase in demand for their service in last 12 months. And 80% think that the homelessness situation will get worse in the coming years.
This rising demand is placing significant strain on frontline workers, with many reporting that the pressures they face are directly affecting their wellbeing and outlook.
“We no longer prevent homelessness as there are no funds to do so, we just deal with the immediate crisis. We go round in circles. Due to budget constraints, we are under constant funding pressure to reduce costs and cut numbers. This means screening homeless people, trying to avoid them accessing temporary accommodation and also cutting staff.”
West Lothian, Local Government Employee
A majority of the workforce feel they are at risk of burnout (57%) and only 27% feel hopeful about the future of their job. In addition, 51% reported that their role is having a negative impact on their wellbeing, with only 34% agreeing that their pay adequately covers their living costs.
Please read our report to see other key findings from our survey.
The impact on frontline workers’ mental health was evident, as highlighted in some of the respondents’ answers:
“It is a constant conflict between experiencing vicarious trauma and remembering you are there to help. It is humbling but also can be crushing.”
South Ayrshire, Charity worker
“I feel burnt out and underappreciated by this sector and not valued in this work, I have put a lot of time and energy and exhausted myself emotionally and physically at times from this job, it can feel very deflating.”
Brighton and Hove, Registered Social Landlord employee
As we face significant challenges in the sector, it is important that these insights are heard by decision-makers, and can help shape future policy and practice.
Based on what frontline workers have told us directly, we have put together a set of recommendations for decision-makers. National governments and local authorities must:
1) Improve the availability of appropriate and affordable accommodation:
a. Make more self-contained accommodation available that meets people’s needs and reflects the level of demand.
b. Raise Local Housing Allowance so that it is aligned with actual local rent levels, enabling people supported by the housing allowance to access private rented housing.
c. Address barriers in the private rented sector by tackling the requirements and processes that exclude people on low incomes or supported by benefits, such as guarantor demands and affordability rules, and working with landlords to ensure fairer access to housing.
2) Guarantee the essentials people need to move in and stay housed Housing offers can fall through or lead to repeat homelessness if people lack essentials like furniture, white goods and flooring or practical support when moving in. Housing providers should ensure accommodation is ready to move into and where needed, there is support available for clients to help them settle in and sustain their tenancy.
3) Reduce administrative burden in housing and support systems by ensuring application, referral and reporting processes are proportionate and accessible to enable frontline staff to prioritise direct relational support rather than excessive bureaucracy.
4) Provide long-term, sustainable funding that enables services to plan, retain skilled staff and focus on prevention, rather than being driven by short-term crisis response.
5) Improve coordination between housing, health and support services so that people with multiple needs do not fall through gaps created by fragmented systems.
6) Introduce a national pay and progression framework to ensure fair pay, job security and recognition of the skilled work undertaken, with the Real Living Wage as a minimum benchmark.
7) Develop clear training, accreditation and career pathways through a national qualifications framework that supports staff progression and establishes homelessness work as a recognised profession.
8) Guarantee minimum standards for wellbeing and safety, including protected time for reflective practice and access to appropriate trauma support, so that frontline staff are equipped to carry out their roles safely and sustainably.
These findings will also inform our work, such as where we provide funding and focus our influencing work; ensuring we are supporting the implementation of and testing evolving practice for future scale up. It will guide how we measure, learn from and report on our impact. Ultimately, these insights will help us and our network partners to build a stronger, more targeted response to homelessness across the UK.
