Alternative accommodation for entrenched rough sleepers

The private rented sector and more...

Hostels can sometimes prevent people from moving off the streets in to settled accommodation. The chaotic nature of lots of people living under one roof can be intimidating and off-putting, especially for clients with multiple needs. The sector needs to respond to these individuals by offering alternative accommodation options.

Clients with complex needs and a history of rough sleeping are often reluctant to go into hostels due to previous bad experiences. Individuals often seek privacy and security that cannot be found in the hostel environment. Many homeless people would like their own tenancy and the opportunity to live independently. Due to the shortage of local authority and housing association accommodation, the private rented sector can often provide the most suitable accommodation for individuals with complex needs. Individual private tenancies coupled with adequate individualised ongoing support can able entrenched rough sleepers to sustain tenancies for long periods. The private rented sector can create new challenges for outreach workers in terms of building good relationships with landlords and finding suitable properties. However it can be a fantastic opportunity for people who have refused hostel and supported housing options for a new start within the community. As most hostels now have strict move-on targets, the private rented sector can also offer long-term stability for entrenched rough sleepers. Below are some examples of organisations and models that have provided alternative accommdation to entrenched rough sleeprts and seen excellent results

Rowan Alba – EdinBurgh: providing individual tenancies for multiple excluded individuals.

 
Rowan Alba, a charity for vulnerable people in Scotland, provides individual tenures at Thorntree Street for individuals facing multiple exclusion. In Edinburgh it was identified that there was a number of people who had been excluded from all local provision. Rowan Alba responded by developing a project that gave excluded rough sleepers the opportunity to have individual tenancies with floating support attached. Since opening they have had just one eviction in five years. The project has 24-hour staffing and there is a high ratio of support worker to client. Having individual tenancies ensures that individuals must take personal responsibility in order to keep their properties. The key to the success of this project is that clients have ownership and something worth holding on to, along with an excellent supportive staff team, which adopts a person centred approach. Rowan Alba involved clients in the project’s development right from the start and have seen excellent results, with individuals with long-term histories of eviction and abandonment maintaining their tenancies. For more information about their services.
 

Housing First Model 

The Housing first model was first adopted in the US, a model that houses homeless people in privately rented flats managed by external agencies. Very low support and engagement requirements are placed on clients, and tenancies are managed by workers at arms length. The model focuses on accommodation primarily which isn’t dependent on engagement with support services. A similar model has been adopted in Exeter by the BCHA Bridge project. 

The Lodge - London

This cutting edge idea is to provide a solution for some of the more acute rough sleepers in central London. It is a low threshold scheme offering a light touch of key working from a "landlady" and "hotel staff" team. It aims to overcome the resistance from some rough sleepers to going to a hostel. Many of the rules of hostels will be dropped and replaced by a hotel environment, with key working in a client-led way. This has been seen to work for rough sleepers with low support needs or those who find it difficult to interact in a high level of key work. It can be very difficult for entrenched rough sleepers to build personal relations and for some a better approach is more hands-off, offering accommodation only and providing  one to one support at arms length to ensure that tenancies are sustained, but in a way that individuals don’t feel pressured to move on or address their complex needs, until they are ready and able. Click here to learn more.
 

Click here to learn more about alternative approaches to providing accommodation.