King's College London

Nearly 150 people, from afar as the US and Portugal, attended today’s webinar, part of the Homelessness series from HSCWRU at King's, which considered Harm Reduction and Belonging in the Provision of Homelessness Services.

• Slides from the session

The speaker was Ben Scher, lecturer and postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing. Ben’s research explores health inequalities and social exclusion among populations experiencing overdose and drug-related harm, with the aim of producing evidence and interventions responding to these harms.

The webinar explored insights from his PhD research in the UK, Canada, and Greece on how homelessness and substance use overlap in urban settings, arguing that whilst often treated as separate policy areas, solutions should overlap. Ben discussed the international evidence on how harm reduction interventions can provide not only safety, but also a sense of belonging, crucial for supporting people in achieving broader stability in relation to housing and health. He highlighted structural barriers that keep people from accessing services, and why more inclusive approaches are urgently needed.

Ben spoke at this series in summer 2023.

Some remarks from attendees

Thanks so much, Ben - such important and powerful work, and a fantastic presentation!

This was really interesting; I feel that this has really helped my understanding of how to approach supporting people with these needs.

Amazing presentation and thought-provoking research and findings, Ben. Thank you so much to the organisers and all participants

Coming up

The next webinar in the Homelessness series is 11.12.25 on Homeless applications: barriers to finding in-person help and the impact on hospitals

Please get in touch with Jess Harris to join the mailing list to hear about future events.