Vicky Said: "“I was delighted to receive my invitation from the Mayor and have the chance to amplify lone mothers’ experiences of homelessness."

Following her attendance at Winter Graduation in January, Mayor of Brighton & Hove City Council, Councillor Amanda Grimshaw BEM, asked graduating Social Work & Social Care doctoral researcher, Vicky Bromley, for a copy of her thesis on lone mothers’ experiences accessing homelessness help and in emergency and temporary accommodation across England to share with the Council’s Housing division.  

Mayor Grimshaw also invited Vicky for tea at the Mayoral Parlour on 11 February.

Vicky’s research explores how welfare policy negatively impacts this group, causing their disproportionate homelessness. Interviews and surveys with lone mothers and housing case workers revealed that the under-resourced Local Authority Housing Departments can result in the use of gatekeeping practices and shortcuts that compound lone mothers’ marginalisation in society. It recommends policy improvements to reduce discrimination and improve the lives of lone mothers and their children.

Vicky’s work builds on the work of the homeless charity Shelter and the feminist economics think tank Women’s Budget Group to draw attention to the issues that lone mothers face regarding housing and homelessness.

Vicky said:

“I was delighted to receive my invitation from the Mayor and have the chance to amplify lone mothers’ experiences of homelessness. Mayor Grimshaw read my thesis and said that recent changes in Brighton and Hove have improved services for homeless families, but more work remains. Having shared a report of my findings with the Council’s Housing Department, I am hopeful for further communications.  

“It is wonderful to have the opportunity to amplify the perspectives of my research respondents who gave their time for the research despite their busy schedules. Lone mothers perform the work of two parents on a single income. They are time-poor and cash-poor; they often report feeling completely overwhelmed and without refuge.

“Watson and Austerberry’s seminal book, Housing and Homelessness: A Feminist Perspective, was published 50 years ago, yet housing still remains a pressing feminist issue.”

You can access Vicky’s thesis at Figshare.

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