Beth Watts-Cobbe
@bethwcobbe.bsky.social
Professor and Deputy Director @i-sphere.bsky.social Research homelessness, destitution, and social responses to them.
My Blog : 1 Lanark Road - Empty Homes in a Housing Crisis scottarthurmp.wordpress.com/2026/04/27/1... @edinburghminute.com @edinreporter.bsky.social
1 Lanark Road – Empty Homes in a Housing Crisis
Why Are So Many Flats at 1 Lanark Road Sitting Empty? A number of local residents have been asking the same question: why are so many of the flats at 1 Lanark Road still empty? From the outside, it…
scottarthurmp.wordpress.com
In all seriousness I need help. I need a new phone. This one is literally dying. I want a second hand iPhone because. But why are there so many models? Which from 2-5 years ago are fine? Any duds? How the hell do I figure this out with minimal time?
Maggie Brunjes CEO @homelessnetwork.scot reminds us that Housing Justice in Scotland means safe, suitable housing for all of us 🏡 including people with #NRPF www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/true...
True housing justice must include those with No Recourse to Public Funds
Thousands of people are excluded from basic support because of their immigration status, writes Margaret-Ann Brünjes, chief executive at Homeless Network Scotland.
insidehousing.co.uk
True housing justice must include those with No Recourse to Public Funds, argues @homelessnetwork.scot's Maggie Brunjes drawing on @i-sphere.bsky.social's independent evaluation of the Fair Way Scotland partnership www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/true...
True housing justice must include those with No Recourse to Public Funds
Thousands of people are excluded from basic support because of their immigration status, writes Margaret-Ann Brünjes, chief executive at Homeless Network Scotland.
insidehousing.co.uk
New research shows Scotland’s progress in ending communal night shelters for emergency accommodation is under threat. The study highlights the harm caused by shared air shelters and shows that alternatives are achievable. lnkd.in/enbrNsPP #HeriotWattUni #Homelessness #HousingPolicy
I cannot express sufficiently the unbridled joy of getting back to my own home after Christmas and new year away in… eccentric?… circumstances. I was so full of hubristic joy my daughter (3.5) informed me I’d given her a portion of ice cream that was too big ‘I don’t think I can eat that mama’…
The Housing Studies Charitable Trust is seeking new Trustees to distribute proceeds from the journal to support housing education and scholarship. Please see advert and share widely. The role isn’t onerous and support important orgs and postdocs/ECR. www.thornbyassociates.co.uk/latest-news/...
Housing Studies Charitable Trust Seeking New Trustees — Thornby Associates
The Housing Studies Charitable Trust (HSCT) is looking for three new members to join theBoard of Trustees, a vital part of their governance.
thornbyassociates.co.uk
Check out one of the interviews I did this week with CBC New Brunswick on sleeping cabins and tiny homes as a response to homelessness. Share among your networks! Thanks, CBC for inviting a critical perspective on this issue. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
cbc.ca
Hats off to Carrie for calmly and cogently making these arguments. It feels to me a little like we’re having to defend the view that 2 plus 2 is 4. The poverty of aspiration endemic in responses to homelessness remains so evident. People deserve better.
Dr. Carrie Anne Marshall@cannemarshall.bsky.social · 8mo agoCheck out one of the interviews I did this week with CBC New Brunswick on sleeping cabins and tiny homes as a response to homelessness. Share among your networks! Thanks, CBC for inviting a critical perspective on this issue. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
We'd love it if you could share this with your networks @rocktrust.bsky.social @homelessnetwork.scot @sheltercharity.bsky.social @shelterscotland.bsky.social @cyrenians.bsky.social @glasgowcitymission.bsky.social @housing-justice.bsky.social @homelesslink.bsky.social @centrepointuk.bsky.social
Beth Watts-Cobbe@bethwcobbe.bsky.social · 8mo agoCome join us! The @i-sphere.bsky.social are delighted to advertise for Research Intern to design and lead in-depth research on an area of homelessness prevention in the UK, The post is full time, for 9 months and suitable for candidates based anywhere in the UK (remote working standard)...
Come join us! The @i-sphere.bsky.social are delighted to advertise for Research Intern to design and lead in-depth research on an area of homelessness prevention in the UK, The post is full time, for 9 months and suitable for candidates based anywhere in the UK (remote working standard)...
Context: Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins is playing. E (3yo): Mummy, I went to the danger zone once. A long time ago. With daddy.
Dormitory-style night shelters tackling street homelessness are harmful. At best, they protect an already very disadvantaged group from some harms, while generating & deepening manifold others. Nor do they reliably lead to sustainable rehousing... ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/ij...
Beyond Shelters: Unpacking Global Lessons from Scotland’s Journey Towards Housing Justice | International Journal on Homelessness
ojs.lib.uwo.ca
Really pleased to see this from SMF, showing the role that Housing First needs to play in finally, sustainably, turning the tide on rough sleeping in England. I hope those working on the *much anticipated* cross-government homelessness strategy are taking note.
Social Market Foundation@smfthinktank.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhen did Government stop caring about rough sleeping? In his latest briefing, @gideonsalutin.bsky.social argues for a proven approach that cuts homelessness and generates nearly £200m in net fiscal benefits. 💡 🧵What is it—and does it work?
Wall to wall dads (except me) at the toddler trampolining session this morning, and absolutely no mystery to me why. Jeez!
Some heatwave weekend reading on why devolution needs to be talked about more in connection with the disability social security cuts. @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social blog w/ @safety-nets.bsky.social colleagues @haylesben.bsky.social @sionedps.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Labour’s social security reforms ignore devolution - British Politics and Policy at LSE
The Goverment's social security reforms ignore the fact that they will have different consequences depending on which part of the UK one lives in.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
The trial 56-day 'move-on' period for newly-recognised refugees to find somewhere to live has been extended, the government has confirmed.
Home Office extends 56-day 'move-on' period for refugees
bigissue.com
Groundbreaking new research by @i-sphere.bsky.social finds Black families have to disguise their identities to avoid #discrimination in housing, employment & essential services More here: tinyurl.com/2etwp8ny #HeriotWattUni #Homelessness @raceontheagenda.bsky.social @crisis-uk.bsky.social
Black and minoritised people feel forced to disguise their identities
Race, Ethnicity and Homelessness research by I-SPHERE at Heriot-Watt University finds Black homeless families feel forced to disguise their identities
tinyurl.com
𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞 An analysis of 750,000 household records from the statutory homelessness system reveals that only 10% of Black families gained social housing compared to 24% of White families. doi.org/10.17861/D78... @raceontheagenda.bsky.social @crisis-uk.bsky.social
Sad news indeed
Alison Wallace@alisonwyork.bsky.social · last yr.The closing of Abrdn’s Fair Finance Trust is grim news. I had funding from them into shared ownership and found them all staff great to work with. Big loss to difficult social policy research funding landscape. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It was a real pleasure to be able to mark and celebrate Maggie Brunjes - the inimitable, legendary Chief Executive of Homeless Network Scotland - receiving an honorary doctorate from @heriotwattuni.bsky.social last week. Congratulations Maggie on all of your achievements.
Free School Meals support in the holidays is now the largest category of Household Support Fund expenditure. This is arguably not an ideal use of what is supposed to be crisis support funding and would be better covered by an increased Free School Meals budget instead.
Love this - a really useful framing to help bolster the normative underpinnings of the social security system and employment support.
Annie Irvine@annieirvine.bsky.social · last yr.I've been thinking for a while that we should be talking more about the "social determinants of work". David Kingsley has got there first; great piece naming "the social determinants of employability" - housing insecurity, digital exclusion, mental health, access to care www.myiep.uk/blogs-and-op...
Please join us on 20th May for our next @i-sphere.bsky.social /Centre for Homelessness & Inclusion Health webinar with @popmhuk.bsky.social's Natasha Chilman on The public health significance of prior homelessness: findings on multimorbidity & mental health from a nationally representative survey...
Please join us on 20th May for our next @i-sphere.bsky.social /Centre for Homelessness & Inclusion Health webinar with @popmhuk.bsky.social's Natasha Chilman on The public health significance of prior homelessness: findings on multimorbidity & mental health from a nationally representative survey...
In a long held tradition of watching zeitgeist TV shows years after their release, the time has come to watch Black Mirror… What the actual *^%>?!
My daughter, 3, to our friend: “can I come to your house and see your mess?”
Of course I’d rather Labour had won the by-election and losing by six votes is astonishing. But I hope Starmer takes the message that Reform are better at being Reform than Labour, and Labour’s best bet is to go back to being Labour.
