Towards identifying the causes of South Africa's street homelessness: Some policy recommendations

Figures & data

Table 1: Homeless respondents' main reasons for leaving original home

Street-homeless respondents' reasons for first leaving home prior to street homeless condition	Number of replies	Percentage of respondents mentioning
Employment factors (job search, employment, retrenchment, dismissal, income shortfall, other economic factors)	661	53
Family factors (deaths, disputes, marriage, divorce, family relationships, family influence, other changes in family situation)	665	53
Aspirational factors (seeking better life, independence, excitement, other life-improvement factors)	210	17
Shelter and housing (lack of housing, eviction or forced removal, other housing factors)	128	10
Abuse or violence (abuse, mistreatment, injury, other personal suffering)	111	9
Total	1775
Multiple response distribution, percentage of respondents replying ‘yes’: number of replies may exceed total number of respondents.

Table 2: Comparison of indicators for HSRC street homeless and IPDM informal (shack) settlement sample populations

Variable	Mean for indicator, homeless adults (HSRC homeless survey 2007)	Mean for indicator, adults in informal settlements (CSIR/HSRC IPDM survey 2007/08)
Male (%)	87	41
Educational level (grade completed)	Grade 7	Grade 8
Formally employed (%)	27	43
Receiving disability grant (%)	1	24
Mean number of reported migration moves during their lives	1.73	1.07
Number of sample cases	943	403