Understanding the emergency accommodation use patterns of homeless families

This paper examines homeless families' shelter stay records to better understand their patterns of service use and how they exit, or remain, within emergency accommodation. Little is known of how homeless families' stay patterns vary from the general homeless population, or how such variation might be explained by structural or individual factors. The paper utilises a cluster analysis of homeless families stay records from 2012 to 2016 in Dublin, Ireland. The data (n = 2356) is drawn from the ‘Pathway Accommodation and Support System,’ which provides ‘real-time’ information on homeless presentation and bed occupancy. The results demonstrate that family homelessness is a significant problem in Ireland, arising from wider challenges in the Irish housing system. However, the majority of homeless families experience a relatively small number of homeless episodes for short periods of time. Most do not exhibit the kinds of complex needs that might necessitate additional social services, but simply require support in accessing affordable housing. Inter-cluster differences were found on the basis of household composition, migrant status, race/ethnicity and the type of emergency accommodation placement. The findings have implications for the operation of homeless accommodation in Ireland, and have relevance for policymakers in similar housing-welfare regimes. •Family homeless is growing problem in Ireland, emanating from structural failings within the Irish housing system•Homeless families increasingly account for an outsized share of long-term users of emergency accommodation•There is a significant gendered dimension to the extent of family homelessness•Homeless service provision is overly-concentrated within already disadvantaged communities