Effective homelessness prevention? Explaining reductions in homelessness in Germany and England

England and Germany are unusual amongst developed economies
in reporting declining levels of homelessness. This paper argues that, notwithstandingweaknesses in the available data, there are good grounds for thinking that in recent years there has been a reduction in homelessness in both
countries. While a range of factors has contributed to these downward trends
(a slackening housing market in Germany; tightened local authority assessment
procedures in England), there is evidence to support claims that targeted
preventative interventions have had a substantial beneficial effect.
Encouragingly, and perhaps surprisingly, it seems that positive outcomes can
be achieved even in the face of unhelpful structural trends (rising poverty and
unemployment in Germany ; worsening housing affordability in England). The
experiences of Germany and England suggest that successful prevention
policies must be carefully targeted at the key ‘triggers’ for homelessness, and
need to be underpinned by appropriate resources and an effective governance
framework for their implementation. The paper also highlights the profound
impact that inter-country conceptual and institutional differences have on the
understanding of homelessness and its prevention, cautioning against the
dangers of international comparisons which pay insufficient attention to
national contexts.