Homeless Link is proud to join forces with Inside Housing on the Reset Homelessness campaign, which calls for a systemic review of homelessness funding in England, ahead of the Labour government’s first Spending Review in the spring.
A key part of the campaign will involve Inside Housing reporting on the funding crisis, and how it is impacting service providers and the homeless people they work with. It will also include a series of weekly opinion pieces written by our members to illustrate the numerous ways in which the current funding system is not fit for purpose.
Launching this new initiative, we published five initial feature articles ahead of the holiday season in December, a time of year when support services come under increased strain and homelessness is firmly in the spotlight. The flagship feature can be read here on Inside Housing's site:
Reset Homelessness: ‘The system cannot continue as it is’
The Reset Homelessness campaign calls for a systemic review of homelessness funding in England. But how has spending on the crisis gone so wrong? Jess McCabe reports.
Member comment pieces
Our members share their experiences demonstrating the significant challenges caused by the current funding system and the impact these are having on support delivery.
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Demonstrate political will to end the homelessness crisis
With government funding and commitment, the homelessness sector can and will innovate, writes Tim Archbold of Signposts.
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Housing First is essential but needs longer term thinking
Housing First is vital but we need longer funding cycles and top-down investment in staff, says Sarah Lister of Oasis Community Housing.
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The asylum system is pushing people into homelessness
Asylum system and homelessness funding streams remain largely separate and insufficient despite intersection says Kirstie Cook, King’s Arms Project
England got homelessness service commissioning right before; it can again - Removal of ringfenced funding and national quality standards for supported housing have created a race to the bottom, writes Lee Buss-Blair of Riverside.
Recognise homeless women in their own right and fund services accordingly - Women are unseen and unprotected by a system designed and funded for men, writes Lucy Campbell of SHP.
We must end the revolving door between hospitals and homelessness - Healthcare spending on people facing homelessness is very costly but is achieving very little, writes Dee O’Connell of Pathway.
Proper funding for high-quality supported housing necessary to meet people’s needs - Adequate funding for housing and support is essential to meeting the complex needs of our residents, writes Mark Grant of Action Homeless.
Enhanced housing benefit is putting some supported housing charities at risk - The funding cuts and restrictions facing supported housing charities are putting people’s lives at risk, writes Tom Neumark of Porchlight.
Youth homelessness needs ambitious funding, not arbitrary discounts - There is a tendency to believe youth homelessness does not exist so it is not properly funded, writes Phil Kerry of New Horizon Youth Centre.
How can homelessness services be expected to deliver with only short-term funding - Chris Keating of Connection Support, describes how the tailored support they offer requires a far more nuanced approach than short-term funding cycles allow for.
Reset Homelessness: Breaking the cycle to deliver a system that works for all - Homeless Link's Sophie Boobis explains why comprehensive reform of the way the homelessness system is funded is essential to create a better and more just society.
Reset Homelessness features
Campaign features to date (links out to Inside Housing) include:
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How to shift from crisis management to prevention
When you are in a crisis, how do you reinvent homelessness services to focus on prevention? Jess McCabe reports from the rough sleeping conference.
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APPG calls for homelessness focus in NHS 10-year plan
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ending Homelessness will write to the health secretary, calling for homelessness to be included in the NHS’s 10-year plan.
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Inside the economics of temporary accommodation
Temporary accommodation costs the taxpayer more than £2bn a year, yet this spending remains largely unexamined. Inside Housing and the i newspaper investigate.
Homeless, vulnerable, but not a priority - As local authorities struggle with the numbers of people turning to them for homelessness help, many are being deemed ‘not priority need’. Katharine Swindells investigates.
The doctor-turned-campaigner for homeless children - The Shared Health Foundation’s campaign led to government changing its guidance on providing cots in TA.
A night shelter for trans people struggles to find funding - Jess McCabe reports from The Outside Project’s new transgender-specific emergency accommodation.
How many toddlers and babies are living in temporary accommodation in the UK? - Inside Housing’s latest quarterly update to its live data dashboard.
This joint campaign will continue in the run up to the Comprehensive Spending Review. If you have a relevant story to tell, please contact Homeless Link.
