Ending the stigma around homelessness with better language

There is a wealth of research examining the stigmatising role of language and images in context of poverty (Chauhan & Foster, 2014), mental health (Foster, 2010), drug-use and dependence (O’Dowd, 2018), and diseases (Flint, 2015).
 
Homelessness intersects with many of these, yet, as Teixeira (2017) notes, much less is understood about the role of language in perpetuating stigma around homelessness and there is an urgent need to develop policy and codes around this issue.

This project aims to address this gap.

The aim is twofold: 

First, it will develop and validate a framework for identifying words, phrases, and linguistic tropes that stigmatise homelessness and stereotype people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in UK. 

Second, it will develop a language guide that will aid a shift in how homelessness and people experiencing homelessness (PEH) are talked about in public discourse.The project will use natural language processing (NLP), experimental, and qualitative research methods to achieve its goals.