Family homelessness is an increasing problem in Sweden. An acute lack of affordable and accessible housing force more families to turn to social services as a last resort. However, it is only by applying for means tested social assistance that families can get help with temporary emergency housing.

This paper will present initial findings from an explorative qualitative study involving homeless single mothers with refugee or migrant backgrounds who have had contact with social services in the greater Stockholm area. In the City of Stockholm and surrounding local authorities, welfare conditionality is increasingly applied to support payments for emergency housing. Parents are required to demonstrate that they are “actively looking for housing” without much consideration for the structural circumstances which impacts their chances of finding a solution by themselves.

Rules governing payments of social assistance are regulated in the Swedish Social Welfare Act and interpreted through guidelines written by the National Board of Health and Social Welfare. According to these rules and standards, “the best interest of the child” should always be considered when social services make decisions involving families with children. However, while there are written guidelines regarding payments of social assistance in the event of financial hardship, there are no official guiding principles for how social services should deal with family homelessness. As a result, we are observing the growth of short-term and emergency solutions with changing degrees of conditionality attached. In the most extreme cases, mothers with children are sanctioned through evictions from emergency housing with no further support offered.

Participants in my research are describing how the varying approaches by different social service localities are having an impact on their lives and that of their children. The findings also raises further questions around effectiveness of Swedish homelessness policies in relation to vulnerable families, and, current social service practices emphasising the parent’s responsibility and shortcomings.