Rural Homelessness in North Wiltshire

Generally, homeless adults in rural areas have fewer options than those in cities where a large number of statutory and voluntary services are available.

Compared with the inner cities it is much harder to ascertain the levels of homelessness in rural areas, since it tends to be much less visible.

Between January 2004 and November 2005, more than 150 individuals used the Homelessness Project pilot day centre and at the end of year 2 the centre had more than 30 regular users. By the middle of 2005 we achieved our target average attendance of 20 guests per session.

Because of its location in Chippenham and the high cost of public transport, the centre attracts very few guests from the other towns and villages in North Wiltshire and we believe that at present we are only reaching a small proportion of the single homeless population of the district.

"Staying with friends and relatives is a common homeless experience across England but appears to be most common in rural areas...Although a positive experience for some, staying with friends or relatives is typically characterised by insecurity, poor living conditions, limited privacy and restrictions on behaviour and lifestyle."

From The Countryside Agency Research Notes Issue CRN 74 December 2003