ABSTRACT
This study explores how people experiencing homelessness move from social exclusion to employability through everyday relational and institutional support. Based on qualitative interviews with individuals experiencing homelessness, social workers and employers in Portugal, the research examines how access to work is shaped beyond formal skills. The findings show that employability does not emerge simply from training or individual effort. Instead, it develops through processes of trust, emotional stabilization and sustained support. Access to housing, documentation and supportive relationships plays a central role in enabling individuals to engage with work and rebuild their sense of purpose. Rather than a linear transition, pathways to employment are often unstable and require flexible, long-term support. The study highlights how dignity, belonging and social recognition are central to sustaining participation in the labour market. These insights contribute to community and applied social psychology by showing how inclusion is enacted in practice and by informing interventions that support sustainable pathways out of homelessness.