Supporting the sector

This work includes ensuring the sector have relevant and timely knowledge and information to enable them to provide effective services and holistic support, developing and supporting implementation of approaches and interventions that meet the needs of people accessing and working in services, and developing understanding and capacity to implement new models in homelessness service design.

  • Individual in front of house

    Service design

    Developing and supporting implementation of models of homelessness provision and increased access to housing
  • People Hugging

    Service delivery

    Building capacity so services and support are holistic and meet the diverse needs of those accessing them
  • Individual Presenting

    Prevention

    Preventing new homelessness by improving cross-system practice and repeat homelessness by upskilling the sector
  • Group Meeting

    Partnerships

    Ending homelessness requires coordination between many different agencies, including charities and housing associations, community and faith groups, local authorities and other public services, as well as people with lived experience.

Driving innovation and best practice

Homeless Link works across the homelessness sector to find out what practices work best when tackling homelessness

Find out more
Individual Presenting

Relationship-based approaches

In recent years the sector has seen an introduction of a number of innovative approaches to supporting people who are experiencing homelessness; Psychologically-informed environments, trauma-informed Care, Housing First and strengths-based working to name a few.

Strengths-based

Strengths-Based or Asset-Based Approaches focus on the positive qualities of the people we work alongside, the organisation and the local community. Rather than addressing the ‘problems’ of the individual, they look to get to know the person as a whole to identify strengths and goals that the person wishes to work towards.

Find out more

Trauma-informed care

Trauma Informed Care is an approach which can be adopted by organisations in order to improve awareness of trauma and its impact, to ensure that the services provided offer effective support and, above all, that they do not re-traumatise those accessing or working in services. TIC is an approach which is widely used across many sectors in the US and elsewhere, and is growing in popularity here in the UK.

Find out more

Psychologically-informed

Psychologically Informed Environments are services that are designed and delivered in a way that takes into account the emotional and psychological needs of the individuals using them. The concept of PIE emerged following discussions of a multi-agency working group, convened by the Royal College of Psychiatry, interested in community mental health provision in the UK.

Find out more

Co-production toolkit

Organisations and services are co-produced when professionals and people with experience of using them, work together to design and run the service. Full co-production means sharing power – giving people who use services an equal chance to sit at the table and make decisions about how to run it better. Our toolkit is designed to help services take steps towards introducing co-production.

Find out more