Social Networks of Homeless People under the Influence of Homeless Self-Sufficiency Support Centres in Japan

Since the end of the 1990s the Japanese government and local authorities have made a series of efforts to reduce the number of homeless people in Japan, which had dramatically increased in public places. The Special Law on Temporary Measures to Support the Self-Sufficiency of Homeless People, enacted in 2002, became the foundation for nationwide countermeasures, and switched the aim of homeless support towards a self-sufficient life. This research focuses on homeless self-sufficiency support centres in Ōsaka city, which help homeless individuals to find a way back into a self-sufficient life through job assistance. It aims to establish if this kind of welfare facility is capable of rebuilding social networks or providing clients with the necessary skills to do so. This question is addressed through a detailed description of the facility, the support it offers and an analysis of the social networks of former clients based on qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. The results show that in the support offered by the facility, social networks are not considered to be a crucial factor for escaping homelessness and are therefore not targeted. Although some former clients are able to rebuild social networks around the workplace, these networks have only a minor role in mutual support.