Working to end homelessness: Making a difference on World Homeless Day

Today, on World Homeless Day, the homelessness sector is under immense pressure. We’re currently seeing an alarming rise in the number of people struggling to find a place to call home and homelessness services across the country are struggling to fill vacancies. This article aims to inspire you to consider a career in the homelessness sector, where your passion and dedication really does make a difference in people’s lives.

Why work in homelessness?

Working in homelessness is immensely rewarding so it is a brilliant career choice. Homeless Link’s Workforce Survey in 2022 revealed that 89% of the homelessness workers agree that it is rewarding to work in the sector and 85% account making positive differences to people’s lives a key draw to working in the sector. Working in the homelessness sector allows you to have a direct, positive impact on the lives of those who are most in need and drive the change needed to end homelessness for good.

In addition, working in the homelessness sector offers an opportunity to use and expand upon a wide range of skills and experiences that you may already possess such as team working.

In the video below, we spoke to homelessness workers to find out how they started working in the sector and why they stayed:

The homelessness sector offers a wide range of career opportunities. Whether you are interested in working directly to support people experiencing homelessness through outreach, support work, homelessness prevention, youth work, healthcare, advice services; or work on the wider effort of ending homelessness in government, local councils, or head offices of homelessness services, in policy and research, marketing and communications, campaigns, HR, legal or finance department.

We need more people like you

The need for great staff has never been greater. Against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, homelessness organisations face increased demand for their services. Recent figures show that rough sleeping has increased by 26% with further increases expected. In London alone, the most recent CHAIN data showed there were 13,325 people seen sleeping rough between April 2022 and June 2023. And it is likely these figures don’t capture the full extent of homelessness, which can often take hidden forms such as sofa surfing and overcrowding.

However, like many sectors in recent years, the homelessness sector is short staffed. Homeless Link’s Workforce Survey in 2022 found that 61% percent of services agreed that it is hard to find high quality staff to work within the homelessness sector.

The upshot of all of this is of course a direct impact on homelessness organisations’ ability to effectively support people experiencing homelessness. To tackle the rise in homelessness, as well as policy changes, we need passionate individuals (like you) to join the sector.

How to Get Involved:

To find your next job or volunteer opportunity in the homelessness sector, visit the Homeless Link Jobs Board and sign up for job alerts.

All the jobs on our Jobs Board thoughtfully curated from our community, ensuring that each job opportunity you explore is genuine, current, and actively seeking candidates like you.

Homelessness is solvable with your help

On World Homeless Day, we must remember that homelessness is not an insurmountable problem; it is a challenge that can be overcome collectively. By considering a career or volunteer opportunity in the homelessness sector, you can be a driving force for change and contribute to a world where everyone has a place to call home and the support they need to keep it.

Find your next role at jobs.homeless.org.uk

#WorldHomelessDay #Homelessness #CharityJobs

About us:

Homeless Link is the national membership charity for frontline homelessness services. We work to make services better and campaign for policy change that will help end homelessness. To find our more, visit homeless.org.uk.