It’s looking likely that I’m gonna become homeless soon. Any advice on what to do?

I think we are talking about two separate things here. I’m talking about street homeless, those who engrained into the lifestyle (which is why I clearly stated in my earlier post not sofa surfers etc). I’m not talking about those who are down on their luck and can’t find somewhere to rent. The vast majority of street homeless in the U.K. (rough sleepers) are there largely due to trauma and addiction and not simply the cost of or lack of affordable housing. I’ve been doing this job for 5 years, have met hundreds of people, and can count on one hand the amount of people I’ve met who are living on the street long term due to simply not affording somewhere to live and nothing else. Most people (with vast majority being men) have serious trauma be it from abuse, drug addiction or whatever else and find it impossible to function in society. This includes something like managing a property on their own. This is why support workers do things like “passport to independence” which is a series of key work sessions which aims to identify the needs of the person and work with them in order to teach them how to independently manage life, and we have to provide evidence that they can. Housing authorities will often (usually) require this to be completed before moving forward with a housing application, because they know from experience that simply giving people flats or putting them in house shares doesn’t work. This passport to independence combined with trauma and addiction therapy in a supported living setup (which as the hostels where I work) allows the person to transition safely into life and society. If we took that same person and just gave them a house it would not work for them because they do not have the skills in place to be able to manage it, and would usually be detrimental to them in the long run.  Many people (not all but far more than youd think) also do not wish to live in a house or flat, and prefer to live on the street, so we need to get to the root cause of that before simply housing them. Often they will say they want somewhere to live, because this gives them access to benefits and services they wouldn’t otherwise get, but really they want to stay on the street. Lots of my clients say they actually love living on the street. It’s quite a complicated and nuanced issue and simply saying “house them” doesn’t in any way get to the route causes.  For example how many times have you walked past someone begging with a sign which says “just need £10 to get into a hostel for the night” etc. You could give that person £10,000 and a brand new flat and I guarantee they will be back there within 30 days. Emergency night shelters in the U.K. do NOT charge money, yet I see this sign all the time.  > I’d hate to tell you how to do your job  That’s exactly what you’re doing. > but do you mind telling me why, if your method is so effective, that homeless rates are on the rise in the U.K.?  It’s not my method, it’s the method of every homeless service in the U.K.  Once again, I’m talking about street homeless which is a different thing to sofa surfers, emergency accommodation, car dwellers etc.  The  majority of “homeless” people in the UK do not sleep rough. This is why you never see families with children on the street in tents for example (as you do in places like France), those people get housed. The ones who do not and sleep rough are usually (not always but in the vast majority) single males with trauma and addiction issues and need far more support than just four walls and a roof.