In October 2008 St Mungo's carried out a survey of clients and their experience of employment. With the background of the global financial crisis we wanted to find out more about how much of a part unemployment played in our clients becoming homeless, and look into how the economic downturn could leave already socially excluded people even further out in the cold.

Recent statistics show the biggest quarterly rise in unemployment since 1991, and inflation at a 16-year high. With money tighter than ever, our client's experience is that many households can find themselves only couple of pay cheques away from facing real problems.

Our survey* of St Mungo's residents revealed that for nearly 70% of them, losing their job had contributed to their homelessness in some way. 59% thought that the current recession is likely to cause more homelessness and force more people into sleeping rough.

The clients surveyed were often working in more economically vulnerable sectors - 17% in casual work, 12% in catering, 11% in retail, and 15% in construction.

The recession will lead to less job opportunities overall, with a more competitive labour market as more people compete for fewer jobs. This all means that homeless people could face an even tougher time finding work. Just 4% of our residents are in employment, and yet we know that 97% want to work now or in the near future†.

A poor education is often a contributing factor to homelessness, while unmet physical and mental health needs can seriously compromise a person's employability. Our clients are typically not well equipped to deal with a challenging labour market - 16% have difficulty reading and 13% have numeracy problems. 34% of our clients have limited social skills (lacking the skills to interact with people). St Mungo's Work & Learning services look to meet these needs with the largest programme of occupation and learning opportunities for homeless people in Europe

The difficult lifestyles homeless people lead can cause a complex set of health problems; 86% of St Mungo's clients have untreated health conditions when they come to us and over 60% of clients have issues with their mental health. 36% of our survey respondents said that their physical or mental health was the one thing that had prevented them from finding employment. Providing comprehensive and appropriate health services for our clients is a priority at St Mungo's, we work in partnership with local PCTs to provide hostel-based GPs and nurses' surgeries. We also have teams of specialist workers who help people with their mental health and substance use issues.

What is St Mungo's doing?

In our survey, 35% of people said that they could not find work because they had no home - a vicious circle which homeless people looking for work typically face. Living in a St Mungo's project provides over 1400 clients a night with a secure base and an address. We also provide a free 0208 voicemail number through our award winning VoiceMail4All scheme.

St Mungo's helps people to overcome barriers to employment through education, vocational training, help with finding a job and engaging in meaningful activities - all of which play a key role in recovery from homelessness and are fundamental to our work. Last year our Work & Learning Services assisted over 2,000 clients, helping around 125 people into employment. The mix of training programs matches the findings of our unemployment survey - recent new innovative programs include Pathways to Employment, Bricks & Mortar and a social enterprise restaurant.

St Mungo's is consistently working to meet the health needs of its clients. This year we have launched a number of innovative health care initiatives. For example, each project site now has a dedicated Health Champion to promote healthy living and well-being and provide links with local health care providers. These are supported by new Regional Health Support workers. In September 2008 we launched our health strategy, outlining our vision of health service delivery.

How you can help

A recession will often impact on giving to charities just at the time when vulnerable people most need our support, especially in projects that rely heavily on fundraising such as our Work and Learning services. St Mungo's has a range of ways in which you can help, including making a donation and volunteering.

* From St Mungo's unemployment survey 'Just the Job: Research into the impact of unemployment on homelessness'.

† St Mungo's client needs survey was carried out in the summer of 2008, there were 1128 respondents. A full analysis of the results will be published in the coming months.

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