Footprints in Sutton:
Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to optimise business strategies for Sutton Night Watch Homeless Charity
Footprints in Sutton:
Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to optimise business strategies for Sutton Night Watch Homeless Charity
Footprints in Sutton:
Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to optimise business strategies for Sutton Night Watch Homeless Charity
Homelessness & Modern Slavery:
Exploring bilateral risks between homelessness and modern slavery across London boroughs
What is this project about?
This project aims to provide evidence and actionable policy insights on the linkages between modern slavery and homelessness, by investigating: (i) relevant case-level databases; (ii) homelessness guidance and National Referral Mechanism (NRM) policies; and (iii) lived experiences of survivors of, and those at risk of, modern slavery and homelessness.
Research suggests that homeless mobility (movement activity) data captures unseen narratives of homeless coping strategies embedded within the ways they experience marginalisation, uncertainty, and grief. This project proposes to align SNW’s vision for growth with a need for understanding their service users’ mobility using technology.
The project will involve a team of researchers, police, support service providers, and local authority officers, all of whom have shared interests in one or more of the objectives above. To generate meaningful insights from the objectives, our unique project frame of reference will comprise the following research questions:
1. What does the combined relational network of key authorities, frameworks, and organisations look like for modern slavery and homelessness guidance and policy?
2. What is the current state of evidence about modern slavery and homelessness linkages, and what changes to the system have already been proposed?
3. How do people with lived experience of, or at risk of, modern slavery and homelessness make sense of the wider legal framework and network of support?
4. How can we embed needs-based (as opposed to current rights-based) mechanisms within policy and practice, where it relates to the intersection of modern slavery and homelessness?
What are the objectives of this project?
(O1) Explore why adult survivors of modern slavery may be more at risk of homelessness and why homeless adults (or those under threat of homelessness) may be more at risk of modern slavery or re-trafficking, and identify how these risks are heightened or moderated;
(O2) Analyse relevant datasets from the ONS (Homelessness Case Level Information Collection: H-CLIC) and Homeless Link (Combined Homelessness and Information Network: CHAIN) to indicate the scale and trends of adult survivors of modern slavery who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, homelessness;
(O3) Explore the intersection between homelessness guidance and NRM policy regimes, and how lived experiences and risk to modern slavery and homelessness might differ through the NRM pipeline;
(O4) Uncover patterns of association and mechanisms of causal factors which influence modern slavery and homelessness, with particular attention to personal and demographic characteristics, such as age, nationality, gender, and mode of exploitation; and,
(O5) Develop evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and practitioners about how policies, services, and multi-agency collaborations can prevent and safeguard those at risk of modern slavery and homelessness.
We will also consider the supplementary objective to:
(O6) Explore barriers to accessing specialised accommodation for people with lived experience, or those at risk of, modern slavery, in particular investigating how this might differ by personal or demographic characteristics.
Project Partners
Project Team
Dr Michal Garapich (Co-Investigator)
Michał is an anthropologist, author of a groundbreaking, award-winning monograph using intimate ethnography, and over 50 publications. A scholar with a high citation and funding-generating record, he has been recently awarded a significant ESRC Standard Grant on migrants joining far-right groups. Michał has researched and wrote on migration from Poland, transnationalism, resistance, homelessness, nationalism, politics of diasporic engagement, Polish Roma, and intimate ethnography. He has published in English, Polish, French and German and his fieldwork experience involves Britain, Poland, Ukraine and Peru.
Mr Zulfikar Putra, University College London (Research Assistant)
Zulfikar is a PhD student at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), University College London. He is also a lecturer in the Urban and Regional Planning program at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. He has more than seven years of experience working in academia, consulting firms, and UN agencies, which exposed him to the intersection of the theoretical and practical world of urban planning, delivering several international journals, book chapters, proceedings, and concept notes. His research interests are around grassroots urbanism, spatiotemporal analysis, survival analysis, app-based data analysis, people-centred smart cities, citizen engagement in urban management, co-creation processes, urban innovation and technologies, online platforms, sustainable development, and climate action research.
Miss Jessica Polly Crook, (Project Administrator)
Jessica recently completed her degree in Drama, Theatre and Performance from the University of Roehampton and is now based in Manchester. Under the supervision of Dr Glenn Odom, Jessica was involved in the organisation of a series of community events that took place on the Alton Estate, as part of a South London Partnership funded research project. The project focused on bringing communities together after the COVID-19 pandemic.
