The Achievements of a Multiservice Project for Older Homeless People

The aim of this article is to assess the ways in which older homeless people can be helped to return to more conventional accommodation and lives. It draws on the experiences of Lancefield Street Center, an experimental multiservice program and hostel in London for older people who were sleeping on the streets. The article begins with three concise reviews: of the problems and needs of older homeless people, of the recent development of policies and services for homeless people in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, and of previous service innovations dedicated to the age group. A broad account of the achievements and lessons of the Lancefield Street experiment is followed by an analysis of the long-term accommodation outcomes for its residents. From this evidence, and the experience of a few related projects, the conclusions focus on the kinds of services and interventions that do make a difference to single older homeless people's lives.