Researching migrant homelessness
Mapping the layers of crisis
We’re gathering the life stories of migrants experiencing homelessness in the UK.
This research project was launched in 2020, led by Professor Simon Stewart, as a UK Research and Innovation /Economic (UKRI) and Social Research Council-funded (ESRC) project titled .
We are examining the life stories of migrants in relation to their experiences of homelessness before, during and since the COVID-19 crisis. The project’s findings and recommendations have been captured in several journal articles and have been incorporated in reports published by the (2021), the (led by Lord Bob Kerslake) (2021), (2022), and (2023).
The main report deriving from the project was recently published and was facilitated by the homelessness charity . We’re collaborating with colleagues at the University of Sussex and nine homelessness organisations in the sector, including St Mungo’s.
Publication highlights
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Stewart, S., Peacock, H., Sanders, C., Piazza, R. (2023) "Everyone In and migrants’ experiences of homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic", 1024ºË¹¤³§
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Stewart, S., Sanders, C. (2023) "Cultivated invisibility and migrants’ experiences of homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic", The Sociological Review
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Stewart, S., Sanders, C. (2023) "Enduring borders: precarity, swift falls and stretched time in the lives of migrants experiencing homelessness in the UK", Sociology
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Stewart, S., Sanders, C. (2021) "Kerslake Commission Evidence Submission", Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping
Support services
Responding to a recommendation from our research report, the Access to Justice service in immigration law opened at the University as a collaboration between the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Business and Law and .
Led by Dr Charles Leddy-Owen, the Access to Justice project is situated in Portland Building alongside the existing Legal Advice Clinic.
It provides free legal advice and casework on complex immigration applications, with a particular focus on human rights matters, for some of the least well-off residents of the city.
Access to Justice immigration advice service
Get free legal support from the University's Access to Justice immigration advice service
Clinics and services
See how we're serving our city and community not just through education, but providing front line services and supporting people directly.
Our blogs
View all blogs
Cultivated invisibility and migrants' experiences of homelessness
Everyone In: A temporary solution to a permanent crisis
Everyone In: A moment of hope for migrants experiencing homelessness
Housing in Crisis: Making Links Between COVID-19 and The UK Housing Crisis
How has the 'Hostile Environment' shaped Migrant Homelessness in the UK?
Our news
Speeding up and simplifying immigration claims urgently needed to help with dire situation for migrants experiencing homelessness
Funding win for research into experience of homeless migrants during crises
Associate members
- Professor Sally R Munt - Emeritus Professor of Cultural Politics, University of Sussex
- - Professor of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sussex
- Dr Hayley Peacock - Former Senior Research Officer at St Mungo’s, the homelessness charity
- - Lecturer in Anthropology, SOAS University of London
Contact us
For further information about this project, please contact Professor Simon Stewart.