The Difference that 'Faith' Makes: Faith-based Organisations and the Provision of Services for Homeless People

The provision of services to homeless and destitute people is one of the longest-standing means by which faith communities have sought to contribute to the welfare of society, and Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) retained a significant presence in the homelessness sector even after the establishment of the British welfare state. Recently, there has been a step-change in the role of FBOs, and the wider voluntary sector, such that they are playing an increasingly important role in the delivery of publicly-funded services for homeless people and other vulnerable groups. While concern has been expressed regarding the impact of these developments on the independence of charities, the specific implications for FBOs have not as yet been given explicit attention. Even more importantly, there has been no systematic analysis of the 'difference that faith makes' to the experiences of, and outcomes for, service users. This is a knowledge gap of growing pertinence given the Government's increasingly welcoming attitude to FBO involvement in social policy.

The project seeks to redress these deficits in the existing knowledge base by exploring three avenues of enquiry. First, it will identify similarities and differences between the moral frameworks of FBOs (with a wide range of religious affiliations) and secular (voluntary) agencies offering services to homeless people, and explore how these shape the type and nature of interventions 'on the ground'. Second, it will consider the ramifications of the changing governance ('professionalisation') of homelessness services for FBOs, the impacts this might have on their relationships with secular (and other FBO) providers, and any implications for the future role of FBOs in the sector. Third, and crucially, it will pay particular attention to 'the difference that faith makes' to the experiences of, and outcomes for, service users / focussing on their preferences for either faith-based or secular approaches.

Methods employed in the study will include a review of international literature and British service databases to clarify the role of FBOs in responding to the welfare needs of vulnerable groups, particularly those who are homeless. Interviews will then be conducted with representatives of national FBOs to amplify the information derived from the literature/database searches, and in particular to investigate different faith groups' level and type of informal response to homelessness. The main phase of the research will comprise intensive case studies in three areas: one London Borough and two metropolitan cities. After in-depth interviews with key local informants, six services in each area (four FBO and two secular providers) will be selected for intensive analysis, including a review of their written documentation, in-depth interviews with service managers, focus groups with frontline staff (both paid and volunteer), and focus groups with service users.

The research is designed to be of practical value to central government departments devising policies for vulnerable groups; to FBO and secular voluntary organisations, particularly in the homelessness field; and to academics with an interest in welfare restructuring, poverty, social justice, and faith/religion.