Over the past decade in particular, research has drawn on the notion of a homeless or housing pathway to explore the dynamics of the homeless experience, with specific attention to transition, change and exits from homelessness. The episodic nature of many homeless experiences has been highlighted by Anderson and Tulloch (2000: 11), who define a homeless pathway as ‘the route of an individual or household into homelessness, their experience of homelessness and their route out of homelessness to secure housing’. Thus, as it has become clear that homelessness is far more likely to be a temporary than a prolonged or chronic state, with exits likely, homelessness is increasingly understood as a complex, multi-causal phenomenon and as a consequence of the interaction between individual and structural factors.