Jess Harris is a Research Fellow at the Health & Social Care Workforce Research Unit (HSCWRU) at King’s College London, and joined its predecessor, SCWRU, in 2006. She has been leading the NIHR SSCR funded study on Strengthening adult safeguarding responses to homelessness and self-neglect and is undertaking two SSCR funded follow-on projects, on Evidencing the social work role within responses to multiple exclusion homelessness and on Addressing multiple exclusion homelessness in social work education. Jess is co-investigator on the major Housing Model Evaluation (HOME) study (2023 - 2026).

Jess runs the HSCWRU Homelessness Event Series, webinars on different aspects of homelessness research and innovative practice which are open to all, and links Unit work with other research, policy and practice groupings on multiple exclusion homelessness. In 2022 she undertook a project engaging people with experience of homelessness in the production of a short film, funded by the UKRI Participatory Research Fund, about participating in research and in 2020 co-led a series of national impact activities to promote research on Strengthening pathways out of hospital for people who are homeless.

She is also part of the team Examining the Introduction of the Nursing Associate Role in Health and Social Care. She established and ran the Unit's annual conferences on older people’s social care and mental health & social care. Previously research at SCWRU included the Longitudinal Care Work Study (LoCS), the evaluations of 'Jobs First' and ‘Social Work Practices with Adults’, studies of what works in Social Work ‘Grow Your Own’ initiatives, of disclosure of disability within social work, teaching and nursing for the (then) Disability Rights Commission, of the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) List, and a guide to local government strategic approaches for black and minority ethnic older citizens.

Jess has an MSc in Voluntary Sector Organisation from LSE and previously worked developing older people’s engagement in policy and practice at Better Government for Older People, within a London local authority, a Health Authority Health Improvement Programme for Older People, and a small community organisation. She has 15 years' voluntary experience in community sector organisational governance.

Jess Harris: Recent publications | ORCID iD | Research Profile at King's