Toolkit: Autism and Homelessness

A toolkit of good practice guidance has been launched to help homelessness teams improve their support to people who are, or may be, autistic.

Research by Dr Alasdair Churchard has shown that there seems to be a much higher prevalence of autism among people supported by rough sleeping and homelessness services than in the general population.

In response to these findings, this toolkit has been created to help staff in homelessness services understand:

• some of the signs that a person might be autistic;
• how autism might change the way that people engage with services and support;
• how staff can tailor their responses to better meet the needs of autistic people.

A multi-agency group – involving Resources for Autism, Westminster City Council, St Mungo’s, National Autistic Society, and Homeless Link – created the toolkit, which includes case studies from homelessness charities and autistic people.

Find out more: www.homeless.org.uk/