Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Benefit Sanctions Hitting Homeless People Hardest

New research reveals:
• 31% of homeless people on Job Seekers Allowance have been sanctioned, compared to just 3% of typical claimants
• Nearly a third of services report homeless people being sanctioned while facing poor mental health, learning difficulties or substance misuse problems
• The majority report clients being pushed into debt, food poverty and survival crime
• Services report clients’ existing problems getting worse as a result of sanctions, with only a minority being motivated by sanctions to find employment
• The report calls for changes to the sanctions regime to take into account the issues homeless people are trying to overcome

A High Cost to Pay, a report published by Homeless Link, indicates that individuals who have experienced homelessness are being disproportionately affected by benefit sanctions. Download a copy of the report from the Homeless Link website.

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