Heriot-Watt University

UK homelessness expert Dr Beth Watts-Cobbe is a key author in the team that delivers the regular Crisis Homelessness Monitors and has a long-standing interest in effective altruism and its potential regarding policy and practice in the homelessness sector. The effective altruism movement seeks

The ‘Housing First’ Pathfinder programme transformed the way some of the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness are supported across Scotland, a new independent report has found.

The UK Government has confirmed that it will repeal the 1824 law that criminalises rough sleeping and begging in England and Wales.

Around 227,000 families and individuals across Britain are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness including sleeping on the streets, being stuck in insecure accommodation like B&Bs, or being forced to sleep in cars and sheds because they don’t have a place to call home, new research

The National Robotarium has partnered with Leuchie House to trial technologies that could help people with assisted living needs and those who care for them gain greater independence. One million people in Scotland live with a neurological condition, and 10% are disabled as a result. For many,

People from EU countries living in Britain are nearly three times more likely to experience rough sleeping than the general adult population and are twice as likely to experience homelessness overall because they struggle to access support, new research from homelessness charity Crisis has revealed.

Rates of the worst forms of homelessness are significantly lower in Scotland than in England, new research from Heriot-Watt University has found.

The Housing First Pathfinder has been highly effective at supporting people with the sharpest experiences of homelessness to stay in their homes, according to the country’s first evaluation of Housing First, published this week by I-SPHERE at Heriot-Watt University. The independent I

Prof Sarah Johnsen and Dr Janice Blenkinsopp provide an overview of the main findings from the first interim report of the independent evaluation of Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder programme. Operating in five areas encompassing six local authorities (Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, Dunde

New research published by the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) based at Heriot-Watt University has found that the planning process in England is reinforcing racial inequality, despite having clear potential to support the needs of ethnic minority residents. The st

A new study is being carried out into more environmentally friendly methods for laying housing foundations on peatland that could pave the way for increased economic development in parts of the Highlands and Islands, while mitigating disruption to the natural ecosystem and captured carbon dioxide.

A collaborative robotics and social care event has brought together innovators and end-users in a week-long burst of creativity around assistive technology, supported by the world’s first example of an open assisted living laboratory.

Proposals for the ‘ideal’ legal framework to address homelessness in Great Britain, with potential lessons for other countries seeking to pursue rights-based approaches in this field, have been set out in a new research article. Exploiting the ‘natural experiment’ conditions

With all of Holyrood’s political parties now supporting Housing First ahead of May’s election, Professor Sarah Johnsen, an expert in homelessness policy based with I-SPHERE at Heriot-Watt University, explains why the approach is attractive to politicians looking for an effective, evidenc

Ambitious new measures aimed at widening responsibility for homelessness prevention could stop people from losing their homes and make Scotland a world leader in ending homelessness, according to a new report from an independent group of experts.