Professor Guatam Gulati:

That is a very important point. In my experience, the biggest barrier to getting the right supports is that the disability might not be recognised at all. I do not think that, sitting here today, we even know the extent of the number of people with disabilities who are present in homeless hostels around the country. A lot of disability goes unrecognised and, without recognising it, we cannot offer the right supports.

My second viewpoint, again from my clinical experience, is that it is unusual for people with disabilities just to have the one disadvantage, and if they have one disability, it is more than likely they have another disability. For example, it would not be unusual in my practice to see people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities who have lived a life of poverty and who may be homeless, and stigma remains a real issue for them even now in 2021.