A report published by the charity Crisis says homelessness is the symptom of other problems, such as family breakdown, and these need to be addressed so that people can come off the streets for good.

It calls on agencies to work together to provide both formal and informal support.

A survey of 95 single homeless people by Crisis found that 37% of rough sleepers had had tenancies since they first started sleeping rough but had lost them, mostly due to lack of appropriate support.

Alcohol and drugs

The report, A Future Foretold, says the main factors that lead to homelessness are drug and alcohol abuse, relationship breakdowns, mental health problems, unemployment and leaving prison, or trouble with the police.

"These complex problems are often also the reason why a tenancy is not sustained," it states.

The report's author, Gerard Lemos, says agencies such as housing and social services departments need to look beyond providing emergency help for the single homeless "towards longer-term sustainability".

He believes they need "a quality of life beyond just bricks and mortar".

Shaks Ghosh, chief executive of Crisis, said the number of rough sleepers had fallen in the past 10 years, but the reasons people were becoming homeless were changing.

"Homelessness cannot be solved simply by giving someone a roof over their head," he said.

"We need to address the causes."

Mentoring

The report says local authorities should carry out an annual survey of homeless people, to find out their view about the services on offer, and publish an integrated plan of how they will address their problems.

It says they need "structured support" aimed at helping them resettle in permanent housing and confront the reasons behind their homelessness.

It also calls for voluntary help to be provided, such as mentors who can befriend homeless people and offer social support.

Single homeless people face barriers to permanent housing

And it says single homeless people should get access to "decent housing".

Crisis says many single homeless people face barriers to getting help with housing.

They are often excluded from the housing register because they have a history of rent arrears, anti-social behaviour or eviction from a previous property.

Crisis says their behaviour may be a result of a personal crisis, such as bereavement.

The charity adds that single people are given lower priority, or are not recognised as vulnerable because they do not have a local connection to the area where they are applying for help.

In addition, they are often given little choice in the kind of housing they are offered and are more likely to be given "undesirable estate properties" than families.

Crisis' report recommends that local authorities be given the same duty to single homeless people as to homeless families.

It also calls for a review of exclusion policies, and a national voucher system for people accepted as being in priority need of social housing.

The government has set a target of reducing rough sleeping by two thirds by the year 2002.