SINGAPORE – Social science researchers here have called for a greater focus by policymakers on upstream prevention of homelessness, noting that Singapore has, for the most part, focused its resources on those who are already sleeping rough.

A landmark three-year study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)

has found that long-term homelessness in the city-state is linked to multiple stressors accumulated across life stages, which supports the case for identifying and supporting those in unstable home situations before they transition to sleeping in public spaces, said researchers.

Long-term homelessness refers to those who sleep in public spaces or stay in transitional shelters for more than a year.

The study, which was commissioned in 2021 by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and published on Jan 9, 2026, also found that individuals who received help from shelters tended to fare better than those who slept rough – on average, they were homeless for one-quarter the time, and were twice as likely to transition to long-term housing.

The study involved 50 participants, including individuals and families, across three phases from August 2021 to May 2024. There were nine dropouts by its conclusion.

IPS researchers used a qualitative approach to gain a more in-depth understanding of the participants’ experiences, though the small sample size meant the data may not be representative of the wider homeless population in Singapore.

The researchers found that homelessness was rarely the result of a single action or event – all participants experienced multiple stressors, with half of them having five or more such stressors.

These include low education, physical and mental health conditions, self or spousal incarceration, failed marriage and unemployment.