There are several different avenues for finding assistance as a homeless person across the UK. This guide has compiled just a few of the organisations you should look towards for finding additional support and resources.

Obviously, the most pressing barrier towards getting a homeless person back on their feet is the lack of stable housing. Accessing this form of support could see you set you up for applying for more schemes or even getting stable employment.

We have compiled a short list of organisations that support homeless people into finding housing, which you can read below:

Shelter

Shelter work to help people in unstable housing situations across the UK. That means that wherever you are you should be able to access support from Shelter. In particular, they will be able to direct you to the appropriate place to find emergency housing, or more sustained housing arrangements.

One service they offer is explaining what referral you will need to get a local hostel or nightshelter for the night. However, there is also a range of hostels and nightshelters that don’t require a third party to refer you. Shelter should be able to detail exactly which ones you can go to in an emergency situation. They do warn, however, that some of these shelters run a waiting list.

Homeless Link

This UK charity, Homeless Link, has a vast network of all the different hostels and nightshelters for a homeless person to access. As such, just head over to their site and you can find out exactly where to go and what kind of referral you will need.

Streetlink

For those living in England and Wales, you can call up StreetLink to have a direct referral to another form of emergency shelter. This is primarily a service for those who know of other people sleeping rough and want to help find them appropriate shelter.

Local Government / Council

By law, your local council has to help you if you are homeless or are going to become homeless in the next eight weeks. The council will likely go through a range of checks to find out exactly what kind of emergency you are in, and what led you to that point.

They class priority cases as those who are: responsible for or are children; people who are pregnant; vulnerable due to disability or age; vulnerable due to domestic abuse; history of abuse or unstable housing from a young age; made homeless due to a flood, fire or other disaster.

Citizens Advice

If you don’t need emergency housing but to directly discuss your housing and employment issues with an expert, you should get in touch with Citizens Advice. This organisation has a long history of assisting those in unstable living conditions and may know the appropriate solution for you.

This Site

If you don’t want to talk to someone in particular and just want some generic support, you can read our guides dedicated to those in a precarious employment situation, such as homeless people.

We have even developed advice for homeless people in applying to jobs, and what to write in your CV. You can also check out jobs for the homeless listed on our jobs board.