How stigma makes homelessness harder

Judgement, social exclusion and harmful stereotypes

Homelessness is not a single experience, and neither are the lives of the people affected by it. Julian House supports people in many different situations, including rough sleeping, sofa surfing, leaving prison or hospital with nowhere safe to go, escaping domestic abuse, and living with the effects of poverty, trauma and exclusion.

What many of these experiences have in common is stigmatisation. Alongside the practical realities of homelessness and housing insecurity, people are often judged, blamed, ignored or treated as less than fully human. That part of the picture is easier to miss, but it matters deeply, because the way people are seen and spoken to can shape safety, trust, belonging and access to support.

Stigma does not stop at judgement. It shapes how people live.

It can show up in many ways, including in language, in assumptions, and in the way someone is looked at, spoken to or avoided.

It also shows up in systems: in services, institutions and public spaces where people should be safe or belong but instead feel dismissed or unwelcome.

Recent research in South London found that people experiencing homelessness reported unfair treatment not only in public places, but also in legal settings, housing services and healthcare. Separate research on homelessness and language found that everyday conversations often frame people experiencing homelessness as different, lesser, irresponsible or to blame.

That matters because stigma is not just hurtful. It has consequences.

When homelessness is treated as a personal failing, it becomes easier to justify withholding empathy whilst increasing judgement. People are seen through a narrow set of ideas about appearance, behaviour or “bad choices”, instead of as human beings with histories, relationships and reasons for where they are.

Guidance published last year on homelessness and language urges people to focus on the person first, avoid defining someone solely by their housing status, and steer clear of stereotypes around hygiene, appearance and substance use.

These attitudes are more common than we might think.

Research cited by The Connection at St Martin’s found that 28% of people in the UK believe people sleeping rough are at fault for their circumstances, and 72% believe they could get off the streets if they tried.

These views overlook the realities that often sit behind homelessness: trauma, abuse, poor mental health, poverty, unsafe relationships, and systems that do not always respond with care.

For Karol, who was supported by Julian House, stigma was not an abstract concept. Instead, it was a lived experience which shaped how she moved through the world, and how safe she felt in it.

“I did not want to be seen as vulnerable and needy because this is what would make me vulnerable to being exploited. I was approached by men for sexual gratification. This made me feel extremely unsafe. Men do not like it when I say no. They think because I am homeless, they can take advantage of me.”

This is what stigma can do. It influences behaviour, affecting trust, visibility and survival. Repeated often enough, it can also get under the skin. People may begin to anticipate judgement before it happens, monitor how they are seen, or stay quiet and out of sight because that feels safer. In that sense, stigma does not only come from outside; it can shape how a person moves through the world, what feels possible, and whether it feels safe to ask for help.

This is why how people are treated matters.

Practical support matters deeply: housing, food, healthcare, safety. But so does being treated as a person first.

Stephen, who was supported by Julian House, put it simply:

“They actually go the extra mile. They treat you like a normal human being, which takes a bit of getting used to.”

That line is hard to forget.

No one should have to get used to being treated like a human being.

Yet stigma can make even basic respect feel unusual.

If we want to respond to homelessness and social exclusion well, we have to look beyond housing and support services alone. We also have to look at the stories society tells, the language we repeat, and the assumptions we normalise.

Stigma is not a side issue. It can deepen isolation; make support harder to access and reinforce the barriers people are already facing. Research suggests it is woven through everyday interactions and multiple systems, not just one or two bad experiences.

Before looking away, making an assumption, or repeating a familiar story about homelessness, it is worth asking: am I responding to a person, or to a stereotype?