Lone parent mothers with a foreign background and their children are disproportionally affected by homelessness in Sweden and are more likely than any other group to seek help from social services. However, support from social services for emergency accommodation is granted through the means-tested social assistance system and is therefore conditional on the parents’ ability to demonstrate their ‘worthiness of support’. Very little Swedish research exploring mothers’ views on their homelessness experiences and interactions with welfare agencies exists. There is also an urgent need to better understand how gender, migration, housing, and, welfare regulations inter-relates within specific urban contexts at a deeper experiential level in Sweden. In this paper, I will discuss the gendered and racialized nature of family homelessness in Sweden, as well as, the lack of recognition of the needs and vulnerability of an at-risk population. The paper draws upon qualitative research undertaken with lone parent mothers with experience of homelessness, housing exclusion and poverty in the region of Stockholm. The findings raise questions around the impact of Swedish homelessness policies in relation to vulnerable families, and, the limitations of a gender-neutral approach to social policy which fails to recognise how social divisions and power relations shape access to housing and other resources. Furthermore, it asks whether current social service practice which put emphasis on individual responsibility and parental shortcomings are adequate in addressing the needs of homeless female headed lone parent families.