'No-one has listened to anything I've got to say before': Co-design with people who are sleeping rough

Despite policies and programmes aimed at housing people who are homeless, there are still people who live and sleep rough. This project used the skills and knowledge of people in this situation to identify a strategy to mitigate some of the risks.

To describe the development and conduct of a co-design project involving people who are homeless.

A Working Group of 11 was formed following a careful recruitment process from people who had volunteered after consultation by the project team. The co-design approach was guided by a set of principles.

Eight members of the Working Group were interviewed by an external researcher (RM). The approach was primarily deductive, with the principles adopted by the project team used as a framework for data collection and analysis. The co-design process was captured by the project leaders (BK, PC) supplemented with documentation review and team discussions.

The group met weekly for 12 weeks, with 8-10 members present on average. They reviewed information from the survey, contributed ideas for solutions and ultimately decided to provide information via print, a website and an event. Important factors in on-going involvement were carefully selecting group members and making participation rewarding for them.

Vulnerable people such as those experiencing homelessness can be excluded from decision-making processes affecting them, as they can be perceived as hard to reach and unable to make a meaningful contribution. This project demonstrated that a carefully managed project, with sufficient resources and commitment, it was possible to involve people who are homeless and maintain involvement over an extended time period.

The Working Group reviewed survey findings and developed an intervention to minimize the health, social and legal harms of sleeping rough. Several members reviewe this paper.