Please note: this event has passed
In this webinar, Ben Scher will present his research on the impact of harm reduction interventions for people experiencing homelessness.
He will discuss his comparison of low-barrier harm reduction services (such as overdose prevention centres and shelters) in the UK, Canada and Greece, highlighting the potential for these to support people experiencing homelessness, many who are not reached by traditional homelessness and drug services. With UK rates of overdose in the rough sleeping community on the rise (Office for National Statistics, 2022), Ben’s research explores interventions that can have a positive impact at the intersection of homelessness and drug policy.
Ben Scher is a PhD candidate in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation at the University of Oxford and a part-time outreach worker for St. Mungo’s. Previously he worked in Canada and the UK in homelessness services including emergency shelters, overdose prevention centres, housing first and outreach programs.
The event, which takes place on MS Teams only, is part of our Homelessness Series. Book via Eventbrite.
At today's webinar
At a King's webinar today, Exploring low-barrier drug and housing interventions for people experiencing homelessness, over 280 participants joined Ben Scher, University of Oxford PhD candidate in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation and outreach worker, to hear and discuss findings from his international research exploring interventions having an impact at the intersection of homelessness and drug policy.
The questions and reflections from practice included health and social care, probation, drugs services and homelessness sector perspectives. Participants included policymakers from two UK government departments and international attendees from France and Iceland. See Unit news item for some of the responses we received following Ben's talk.
Follow Ben on Twitter.
See the blog by Carolin Hess based on this event: Overdose Prevention Centres – lessons from abroad.
Coming up
The next event in this series, within the Homelessness Research Programme, will examine the homelessness social worker role. It is open to all.
The Homelessness Research Programme is based at the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce. See all upcoming events organised by the Unit.
Presentation from this meeting
(NB this is a large PDF file)