This document summarizes a study estimating the number of homeless people sleeping rough in 4 cities in the Netherlands. Researchers used shelter registration data and interviews with homeless individuals in shelters during winter periods to estimate ratios of shelter usage to rough sleeping. Applying these ratios to total shelter admissions, they estimate that on average, 250 people were sleeping rough across the 4 cities, with rough sleeping rates varying between cities from 5.8 to 22.9 per 100,000 population. Only a minority (12-36%) of rough sleepers were considered citizens of the cities studied.

1. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Estimating the number of
homeless sleeping rough, a study
of 4 cities in the Netherlands
Marcel Buster, Public Health Service Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In cooperation with: Eva Mandos & Staf van Zeele, Rotterdam-Rijnmond,
Renske Gilisen, Den Haag
Regien Vleems & Addi van Bergen, Utrecht,
Matty de Wit, Natalie Runtuwene, & Mariette Hensen-Baas, Amsterdam
Insert your logo here

2. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Public Health Services of 4 cities
Amsterdam
Utrecht
Rotterdam
Den Hague

3. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Context: Similar policy on homelessness
 Prevention of homelessness..
 Offering integrated care to the homeless who:
 belong to the public mental health care population
 are citizens of the city’s region.
 Encouraging re-migration of homeless from other cities,
other countries…

4. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Aims..of the study
 Describing size and characteristics of the homeless
population.
 Estimating the number of people that are sleeping rough.

5. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Context: The number of homeless that are sleeping rough
is difficult to estimate because:
 hidden population
 Risk of getting a fine, safety.
 dynamic population:
 Starting, ending episodes of homelessness
 Within an episodes of homelessness: changing type of location…
 Migration
 longer period of observation  higher number of homeless…

6. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
During periods of frost in wintertime….
 Shelters are free of charge and accessible for all
homeless.
 Homeless ‘sleeping rough’ are actively motivated to use
a shelter.
 Shelter capacity is adapted to demand.
 Research opportunity!

7. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Winter 2010/’11 and 2011/’12

8. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Methods
 Registers of night-shelters (both the regular shelters and
of the surplus of beds during the frost period)
 Interviews with homeless in shelters during 1 or 2
evenings at start of the (first) period of frost.

9. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Number of people using the night shelters
during a two months period in winter
393
510
688
1163
345
450
500
937
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Utrecht Den Hague Rotterdam Amsterdam
cumulativenumberofpeople(twomonthperiod)
Winter 2010/2011 (dec, jan) Winter 2011/2012 (jan, feb)
2010/11: 2754
2011/12: 2232

10. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Average daily number of people admitted during
period of frost
141
188
260
413
142
196
248
405
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Utrecht Den Haag Rotterdam Amsterdam
averagenumberofpeopleperday,duringfrostperiod
2010/2011 2011/2012
Total number
2010/11: 1001
2011/12: 991
Total interview-
sample
2010/11: 629
2011/12: 567

11. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Estimation based on the ratio
# Sleeping Rough / # Shelter for Homeless

12. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Formula to estimate the number of people
Sleeping rough
? =
Estimated
(Sample)
city total
(registered)
city total

13. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
How long ago did you “sleep rough”?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
UtrechtDen
HaagRotterdamAm
sterdam
TO
TAAL
2010/2011
TO
TAAL
2011/2012
Never
≥ 1 year ago
≥ 1 month, < 1 year
previous 30 days

14. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Where did you spend the last 30 nights?
Differences between cities:
10%
17% 14%
27%
71%
47%
56% 28%
10%
18%
14%
14%
9%
19% 15%
31%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Utrecht Den Hague Rotterdam Amsterdam
Sleeping rough Night-shelter Family, friends other

15. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Where did you spend the previous 30 nights?
Differences between years:
21% 19%
45%
45%
11% 14%
23% 22%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010/11 2011/12
Sleeping rough Night-shelter Family friends Other

16. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
within 4 cities 2011/12
0,96
0,25
0,14
0,36
0
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
1
1,2
1,4
1,6
Utrecht Den Haag Rotterdam Amsterdam

17. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Results: Absolute numbers
101 105
175
157
15
40
45
150
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Utrecht Den Hague Rotterdam Amsterdam
number
Total daily average: 538 night shelter beds vs. estimated 250 sleeping rough

18. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Results per 100,000 population ( > 15 yrs)
39,1
25,8
34,4
23,9
31,7 29,4
5,8
9,8
8,8
22,9
15,8
13,7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
U
trecht
D
en
H
ague
R
otterdam
A
m
sterdam
A
ll2010/2011
A
ll2011/2012
number/100,000
# slots nightshelter Sleeping rough

19. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Are the homeless who are sleeping rough,
part of the registered citizens of the city?
12%
36% 34%
25%
32%
27%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Utrecht Den Hague Rotterdam Amsterdam Total
2010/2011
Total
2011/12
Yes No, migrants (national or international)

20. EUROPEAN RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Housing First. What’s Second?
Berlin, 20th September 2013
Conclusion / limitations
 Simple indicator of the number of homeless sleeping rough for
comparison of urban areas.
 Limitation: estimated number on an ‘average’ night.
 Does the ratio of the nights spend in shelter / sleeping rough,
reflects the true ratio….???
 Both shelter + sleeping rough ≈ 43 /100,000 population
 Sleeping rough varies ≈ 6 – 23 / 100,000 population
 Only a minority of those ‘sleeping rough’ is considered as citizen of
the city’s region.