homeless person in a street in oxford
3 May, 2022

Busting Myths about Homelessness in Oxford

Busting Myths about Homelessness in Oxford

Homelessness affects lots of different people. Some people become homeless because they have experienced mental health problems, drug or alcohol misuse, domestic violence or abuse, unemployment or family breakdown. Yet, there are still a lot of misconceptions about homelessness that are based on faulty thinking or understanding.

Busting these myths is really important to help the world understand the true realities of homelessness, understand and empathise with our clients, and help us support them. Only by expanding our understanding of homelessness can we begin to support homeless people in a helpful way. So, here are some common myths we wanted to clear up!

 

Myth 1: Most homeless people choose to be homeless

False. Most people don’t choose to become homeless. Often people experience homelessness after they exhaust all their options and end up losing their housing. Some groups are particularly vulnerable to becoming homeless: young people leaving care, people living on benefits or low incomes, ex-military personnel, ex-offenders, and asylum seekers or refugees.

 

Myth 2: Homeless people live on the streets

Not always. Homeless people have no permanent home or address. They may sleep on the street, in disused buildings, or in night shelters and other temporary accommodation, but they might also be ‘sofa surfing’ on friends’ floors.

 

Myth 3: People experiencing homelessness should just find a job.

It’s a vicious circle. A person experiencing homelessness has to face a lot of barriers while job hunting. The lack of a permanent address, reliable access to transportation, clean clothes, and other difficulties like mental illness, make it more difficult to obtain and maintain their employment. Even when an individual finds or has a job, this is often part-time or a minimum wage position. This work fails to adequately meet their needs, due to expensive housing costs. In Oxford, the average house price of £513,754 is around 17 times the UK average yearly household income of £29,600.

 

Myth 4: Everyone you see begging on the streets of Oxfordshire is homeless.

Sadly not. Those you see begging may not genuinely be living on the street. In the end, it’s your choice whether or not to give money to those who are begging on the street. However, our experience tells us that most people who beg are likely to spend the money on drugs or alcohol rather than something positive. If you want to give money to help the homeless, we would suggest you give to Homeless Oxfordshire directly. All money donated in this way will help pay for the specialist services we provide to homeless people.

 

Myth 5: There is no support for homeless people in Oxfordshire.

Yes there is! We provide much needed support to people who find themselves homeless: we give people a safe place to stay via our comprehensive range of accommodation (365 nights a year, with additional beds during SWEP, when temperature is forecast to be 0 degrees or under); we assist with budgeting, Universal Credit and debt issues; we provide toiletries, underwear, and use of laundry facilities; we support the work of the Luther Street Medical Centre to deliver quality healthcare to those in need; we offer a lot of other services to help people out.

By donating, you are supporting our clients to move out of homelessness and back to an independent life.

 

We are the largest accommodation provider across the county.

Help us to end homelessness not just manage it

Please make a one-off or regular donation today

Donate Now

homeless person in a street in oxford

Other news

Woman looking through a window, deep in thought - Real Stories - Homeless Oxfordshire Fundraising

Her Way Home: Gina’s story

Like so many women experiencing homelessness, Gina sought security in a relationship – but that relationship soon became abusive. Women-only supported housing is a vital ...
Read more
General News

Using creativity to help young people understand homelessness

**Not the content you were expecting to see? Go to Her Way Home to find out more about our new appeal** Calling all Oxfordshire-based primary ...
Read more
Dog General News

No dog left behind

Animal lovers unite! With National Love Your Pet Day coming up, we’re celebrating the incredible connection between humans and dogs – the original pet. For ...
Read more
Graphic with text that reads: Together, you raised £132,000 for our 2024 Christmas Appeal Fundraising

The results of our 2024 Christmas Appeal

Thanks to the support and kindness of our wonderful new and regular supporters, our 2024 Christmas Appeal raised over £132,000 in monetary donations alone. We ...
Read more
Frilford Heath Golf Club Captains Craig Soubieski and Sally Adams stand by Homeless Oxfordshire banner. Fundraising

Frilford Heath Golf Club has chosen Homeless Oxfordshire as its 2025 Captains’ Charity

We are thrilled to announce that the newly instated Club Captains at Frilford Heath Golf Club have chosen to make Homeless Oxfordshire their Captains’ Charity ...
Read more
General News

Bringing the festive spirit to our residents this Christmas

From Christmas feasts with all the trimmings to community tree decorating and festive art therapy sessions, this Christmas our residents were given the chance to ...
Read more