Homelessness within ex-Armed Forces Personnel - Riverside

Homelessness within ex-Armed Forces Personnel
Routes into homelessness
The media has highlighted that a notable
proportion of homeless people within the
UK may be ex-Armed Forces Personnel
(Panorama: Forgotten Heroes, 2011).
The majority of the homeless ex-Armed Forces
Personnel are categorised as single and appear
to follow a similar route into homelessness as
the general homeless population.
Exact figures for homeless ex-Armed Forces
Personnel prove challenging to collate.
Homeless Link (2011) suggests that this
proportion could be as high as 6% – this
equates to around 2,600 individuals in 2010
(Communities and Local Government 2011).
Riverside ECHG’s Armed Forces
accommodation advice centres received
1,128 referrals during the financial year
from April 2010 to April 2011, which equates
to approximately 6% of the total outflow
from the Armed Forces during this time
(Defence Analytical Services and Advice),
lending support to the figure suggested by
Homeless Link.
Due to the recent UK military operations in
Afghanistan and Iraq much publicity has
been given to the provision of equipment
and resources to UK Armed Forces Personnel.
This interest has made the general public
increasingly concerned for the well-being
of these personnel once they return from
active duty.
In the Strategic Defence and Security Review
(2010) funding cuts were made to the Ministry
of Defence (MoD), reducing their budget by
8%. This reduction in funding has lead to
announcements by the MoD that they will cut
the number of personnel by 17,000 – this
equates to around 11,000 of current personnel
being made redundant. When combined with
the current economic climate this could
potentially lead to an increase in the number
of ex-Armed Forces Personnel who find
themselves in need of housing assistance.
Forces Personnel between 15% and 50% of
the cost of the home they want to buy (Armed
Forces home ownership: a guide, 2011).
However, there are a number of criteria which
applicants must meet to qualify for this
scheme, for example they must have served for
at least four years in the Armed Forces before
applying, they must have enough savings to
cover the deposit for the house and they must
have a good credit history. These criteria may
prove particularly difficult to meet for
individuals who are at risk of homelessness,
particularly early Service leavers who may have
chaotic lifestyles and support needs.
The MoD also provides a similar service to
aid Service Personnel to buy their own home.
Again there are several criteria which must
be met by the applicant in order for them to
qualify, which would leave early Service leavers
and chaotic individuals ineligible. The Long
Service Advance of Pay Scheme allows Service
Personnel to take out a loan of up to £8,500
to assist towards the purchase of a property.
The loan is repaid by taking a percentage
from the individual’s wages over a ten-year
period. In order to be eligible for this Service
Personnel must:
— have completed a set amount of
service time
— have not yet drawn any terminal benefits
— have not given notice or applied for early
termination
— not be under warning for discharge
— be considered suitable by their
Commanding Officer
— have more than six months remaining
before termination from the services
(if their service is due to terminate before
the end of the ten year repayment period,
the outstanding balance of the loan must
be recovered from their final salary/
terminal benefits).
This route may include the following factors:
vulnerabilities and difficulties prior to enlisting
in the Armed Forces; homelessness due to a
relationship breakdown; or significant life
events, for example bereavement or financial
crisis. On top of this, a small number of
individuals are simply unable to cope with the
return to civilian life following Armed Service
(Johnsen, Jones, & Rugg, 2008). This inability
to cope may lead to worklessness and become
a contributory factor in relationship
breakdowns, of which a higher than average
proportion of ex-Armed Forces Personnel seem
to encounter (Johnsen, Jones, & Rugg, 2008).
A survey of Riverside ECHG clients who were
ex-Armed Forces supported these findings,
with 33.3% of respondents citing their
relationship status as divorced or separated.
As the majority of ex-Armed Forces homeless
are single they were traditionally classified as
not being in a priority need for housing. In
addition to this it was necessary to establish a
local connection to the area to be considered
for local authority housing – this is a significant
barrier to those recently living in a barracks or
Armed Forces accommodation 1 .
Recently, legislation has been introduced in
order to aid ex-Armed Forces Personnel when
applying for local authority housing. Within
this legislation individuals have been made a
priority group, provided they are classified as
involuntary homeless (Department for
Communities and Local Government, 2009).
This may still pose a problem for early Service
leavers and those who are dishonourably
discharged as local authorities may still
consider both as leaving the Services early
without having any move on accommodation
as voluntary homelessness.
Rules regarding local connections have also
been relaxed to allow Armed Forces Personnel
to establish a residential connection, the same
way in which a civilian would (Ministry of
Defence, 2008). Despite these changes a
greater emphasis is placed on those individuals
who are deemed to be vulnerable as a result of
Armed Service, for example those who have
suffered physical injuries in the line of duty
which may have left them disabled or with
specific medical or welfare needs (Department
for Communities and Local Government, 2009).
The Government’s Department for
Communities and Local Government has set in
place several initiatives, which they hope will
adequately deal with the housing challenges
that may be faced by ex-Armed Forces
Personnel. One of these, the Armed Forces
Home Ownership Scheme, will loan ex-Armed
1 This accommodation was exempt from the criteria due to it
not being a person’s own choice to live in the area as it was
decided by their employer.
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