Introducing specialist roles to Housing First services: Findings from five Housing First grants

In 2019, through the support of Comic Relief, Homeless Link was able to offer grants for the creation of several different Housing First specialist roles, with the prerequisite that these improve sustainability of the service after the grant ends and do not create provision that would end after the grant.

After an initial application process, five proposals were approved for five very different roles that lasted between one and two years, presenting a unique opportunity for testing different approaches, expanding capacity, and seeing how different work streams can add value to the Housing First model and its residents.

These include:

1. A Trauma-Informed Counsellor at the South Yorkshire Housing Association
2. An Occupational Therapist at St Mungo’s
3. A Peer Mentor and Co-Production Development Project Coordinator at Bournemouth Churches Housing Association
4. A Specialist Women’s Worker at Brighter Futures
5. A Strategic Partnership Manager at the Single Homeless Project