Social work with homeless people takes many forms, including work in residential, employment, health, education and legal services and social workers’ experiences may differ from service to service and from country to country. Changes in national and European contexts mean that social services for homeless people are changing too, and with them the work of social workers.

This issue of Homeless in Europe magazine explores different issues regarding homelessness and social work and the role of the social worker in homelessness services, including: training and support for social workers working with homeless people; assessment of specific types of services and the skills and knowledge necessary for providing that service, as well as the personal experience of social workers providing the service; explorations of national social policy which can have an effect on social workers’ work and European realities and their effect on social workers’ work.