Housing First ‘Could Save City Regions £4m’

A study shows using the Housing First method saves money on long-term homelessness. Policymakers are being called upon to get long-term rough sleepers into their own home as quickly as possible – with the Housing First approach shown to be five times as effective as existing services. The study looks at the potential costs and benefits of rolling out Housing First across the Liverpool City Region, drawing on existing evidence as well as new statistical analysis and interviews with nearly 100 professionals and 79 people with experience of homelessness. The report shows how Housing First could deliver savings for cities and local authorities right across the UK, with potential savings for Liverpool City Region estimated at between £1.18m and £4.02m per year by 2023/24. Read more on 24housing.

Authorities Use HRA Reforms to Repurchase Homes

Research by Inside Housing into English stock-holding authorities’ use of housing revenue accounts to finance new homes reveals town halls are buying former council homes, sold at a discount, as part of wider plans to boost supply. Matthew Warburton, policy advisor for the Association of Retained Council Housing, said the practice had happened on a ‘fairly low level’ for years but reforms to council housing finance, introduced in April 2012, allowed local authorities the flexibility to do more. ’In the bigger picture, it’s a completely insane use of public money to spend it undoing the consequences of a policy that should have never been allowed to happen in the first place,’ he said. However, he acknowledged buying back homes on existing estates can be cost-effective as maintenance and management arrangements are already in place. Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing the Homeless Saves Money

Providing the homeless with a place to live may seem like a high cost for taxpayers. But the alternative, it turns out, is more costly, new research shows. Subsidized accommodation could actually be a bargain for the public, in purely economic terms. That's because living on the street exposes men and women to higher health risks, so they're more likely to use expensive hospital services. Moreover, the homeless tend to get arrested more often than the rest of the population, which generates additional expense in the criminal justice system. The research looked at Moore Place, an 85-apartment building that opened in Charlotte, North Carolina, in early 2012. The University of North Carolina Charlotte tracked a group of homeless a year before entering the facility, and then a year afterwards, and recorded a dramatic drop in health care use and jail time. Total hospital bills fell from $2.5 million before to $760,000 afterwards, while the number of E.R. visits dropped from 571 to 124. Likewise, there was a 78% reduction in arrests and an 84% fall in jail stays. Read more on the Fastcoexist website.

New Digital Champions Network for Housing Launched

A new Digital Champions Network for Housing has been launched to help housing providers support their residents to get online and extend their digital skills ahead of the introduction of Universal Credit. Powered by Digital Unite and inspired by Affinity Sutton, one of the largest providers of affordable housing in England, the Digital Champions Network for Housing (DCN4H) is an innovative online platform to create, develop and support Digital Champions in local communities. Building an army of Digital Champions, people who can help others to use the internet, is a sustainable and cost-effective way for housing providers to improve digital skills among their residents and tenants.  Read more on the digitalunite website.