The endurance, limitations and potential opportunities of charitable responses to homelessness

For many people who are homeless, charity is a reality of life that enables day-to-day survival. Neither a relic of the past nor an exclusive feature of the Global South, in wealthy countries today charity forms a critical part of the welfare state’s role in responding to homelessness. Indeed, charity as a response to homelessness is celebrated. Focusing on charity as the voluntary act of giving money, time, or resources, this chapter examines charity’s strengths and limitations. Given its substantial limitations in meeting the material needs of people who are homeless, the chapter scrutinises the function and endurance of charity as a dominant way that society’s seek to meet the needs of those most excluded.