Breaking the Cycle: From Ambition to Action
Housing First Team Leader at Petrus, Nicola Wilson writes on how the Government can turn the laudable ambitions in the National Plan to End Homelessness into real actions, focusing on the Housing First model.
Introduction
Housing First is an evidence-based approach to ending homelessness that provides permanent stable housing to people experiencing homelessness. A home first without preconditions to address other support needs and then the offer of wraparound support services to fit with their individual needs.
The UK’s National Plan to End Homelessness offers a comprehensive strategy to reduce homelessness, and while it indicates Local Authorities can choose to implement Housing First locally alongside other accommodation models, the plan does not make Housing First an integral or nationally mandated approach.
Research from America, Canada and across Europe shows that the Housing First model is one that works as an effective solution for those experiencing homelessness and multiple disadvantages. This research is influencing policy makers across the world to adopt Housing First as national policy and not just limited pilots or short-term programmes.
What Petrus does
Working for Rochdale based homelessness charity Petrus as a Team Leader within Greater Manchester Housing First, I have experienced some of the successes of the model, as well as some of the barriers and challenges to delivering the programme in a housing crisis. Petrus has over 50 years’ experience of supporting people experiencing homelessness and those who are socially excluded. With our strong values base at the heart of all the work we do, we encourage services to be needs led with accountability and for co production as an integral aspect of service development.
The Greater Manchester Housing First partnership, led by Great Places Housing Group, has been running since 2019 and has helped 454 people escape homelessness and entrenched rough sleeping and into a home of their own. Supported by Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Housing First, has shown how partnership work, intensive support and working to the Housing First principles can be successful in reaching some of those who traditional models can’t.
The 29 years’ experience I have had working within complex needs and disadvantaged communities, such as domestic violence survivors, Children in Local Authority care, those in the criminal justice system and drug and alcohol services have one common reoccurring theme - within all these communities there is a lack of secure, long term, stable housing.
How the Government can deliver on its commitments
This year I have been successful in partaking in the Housing First European Hub Train the Trainer course and looking to be one of only a handful of people in the UK to become a certified Housing First trainer. So far, this course has not only been valuable in learning I can bring back to my daily role, but it has also given me a great insight into how internationally Housing First is delivered and the benefits of national implementation.
Housing First research shows improvements for individuals’ physical and mental health outcomes, has supported to improve housing retention and sustainability and also encouraged social integration for those stuck within the cycle of homelessness.
Finland was one of the first European countries to mandate and embed Housing First as its primary strategy for Homelessness. Statistics show they have practically eradicated rough sleeping while supporting people through scattered housing or Housing First supported accommodation.
Denmark, Canada, France and Sweden have all now embedded Housing First in national policy as the primary homeless strategy. With 80-90% sustainability rates in Sweden funding has now been provided for local municipalities to provide Housing First support. Local Municipalities provide housing and all support is personalised to address individual needs such as substance misuse or mental health.
Further developments within Europe are beginning to include Housing First for Youth, Housing First for Women and Housing First for Children which is reaching out to families who are experiencing homelessness.
What needs to change
There is no national Housing First policy in England, which has led to a postcode lottery of provision and the risk of services scaling down, rather than up. Working within Greater Manchester Housing First it seems evident that what is needed to be adopted within the UK’s National Plan to End Homelessness is a Housing First mandate with funding to embed Housing First as a long-term strategy.
The social value of offering people a safe secure home of their own with intensive personalised wrap around support is clear to see and limits the ongoing trauma that people experiencing homelessness face each and every day.
Learning from the success of Greater Manchester Housing First, and from other countries, must influence the UK’s National Plan to End Homelessness to enable and embed a long term National Housing First strategy. There needs to be a commitment to social house building to secure more homes to support Housing First services.
It is well documented that research shows that homelessness only adds significant trauma, impacting on mental health, physical health and life expectancy. Evidence from other countries and our own needs to be evaluated with an expansion and long-term commitment for a National Housing First strategy if we truly plan to end homelessness.
Written by
Nicola Wilson, Housing First Team Leader at Petrus.
Interested in writing your own blog?
If you would like to write a short article on how the Government can turn the ambitions of the National Plan to End Homelessness into action, please get in touch. You can email our Campaigns Manger Stefan on stefan.donnelly@homelesslink.org.uk
