Homelessness ‘you don't see’?

This book is about some of the 9 out of 10 homeless people you do not see – those living in rural areas. In terms of numbers, the hidden rural homeless cannot ‘compete’ with those in urban areas, and by adopting a rural focus in this book we in no way seek to underestimate or undermine the significance of issues faced by homeless people in various urban situations. However, we do want to claim loudly and clearly that rural homelessness exists as an important, but often invisible, social issue of our time. If you read this claim as a statement of the obvious, then you are probably one of a relatively small minority of people who recognise that homelessness is not confined to the sites and sights of the city. Not knowing about rural homelessness is entirely forgivable. Popular discourses of homelessness repeatedly focus on images and ideas relating to on-street homeless people – usually labelled as ‘rough sleepers’ or ‘beggars’ – in major cities. Highly publicised policy responses to homelessness, such as the Rough Sleepers Initiative in Britain, tend to reinforce the interconnections between homelessness and the city.

Rural areas by contrast are associated with, and often defined by, very different discourses. Increasingly, many rural areas are constructed as ‘ideal’ places to live. If you want to be part of a close community; if you want to live close to nature; if you want to escape from the pollution and crime of the city; if you want a safe, happy, unspoilt environment in which to bring up your kids; then a house in the country is the commonly constructed answer. This ‘idyllisation’ of rural areas varies significantly in different international situations, but it has taken a firm hold on howrural areas are perceived in much of Britain.