Metro Mayors Urge Government To Extend Housing First Scheme

 Mayors from the North West of England and the West Midlands have joined together to call for an extension of the Housing First pilot scheme to tackle homelessness. The scheme has been hailed successful so far, as it has provided secure tenancies for 812 participants. But the pilot is due to come to an end in 2022, prompting concerns about whether support for participants will be able to continue. Issuing a joint statement, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, West Midlands mayor Andy Street and Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram collectively urged the government to expand the Housing First scheme to become national policy. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/metro-mayors-urge-government-to-extend-housing-first-scheme-71861?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

UK Charities Warn Of Cliff Edge As Ministers Stall On Housing Funds

Housing campaigners are warning that a widely praised initiative to get people off the streets in the long term faces “catastrophic disruption” if the chancellor Rishi Sunak does not renew funding. Charities including Crisis, St Mungo’s and Homeless Link have written to the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, and the chancellor demanding the government extends finance for three pilots of Housing First in the West Midlands, Liverpool and Greater Manchester. The initiative, which gained traction in the US and involves giving homeless people homes before trying to tackle addiction or mental health problems, is being developed in England through three regional pilots. Read more on the Guardian website.

UK charities warn of cliff edge as ministers stall on housing funds | Housing | The Guardian 

Housing First Pilots Interim Evaluation Report Published

The Housing First pilots were established following the commitment of £28million in the 2017 Autumn budget and operate across the Greater Manchester, Liverpool and West Midlands Combined Authority regional areas. The report confirms that as of September 2019 a total of 326 people had been recruited to these Housing First services, with a total of 105 people housed. There is a varied picture of housing across the three combined-authority areas, and although there has been a commitment from housing providers to support delivery, a significant challenge remains in securing suitable and affordable accommodation at scale, with particular concern around the availability of one-bedroom properties. Download the report from the GovUK website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/946110/Housing_First_first_interim_process_report.pdf

Housing First Capacity Has Increased By Almost 600% In Three Years

There has been an almost six-fold increase in the capacity of Housing First services in England since 2017, propelled by an increase in the number of services within social housing, a new report has found. Research by membership organisation Homeless Link found there are 105 active Housing First services in England, compared with 32 in 2017. A total of 87 services responded to a survey carried out as part of this research, which revealed they had a combined capacity to support 1,996 individuals. This can be compared with a similar survey carried out in 2017, which found 28 services had a capacity to support 350 people. Read more on Homeless Link.

https://homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2020/dec/03/new-research-reveals-scale-of-expansion-of-housing-first 

Housing First Sees 200 People Spending Christmas Off The Streets

The government has claimed 200 people who would have otherwise been homeless will be spending Christmas off the streets due to the Housing First pilot. To date, pilot schemes in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, and the West Midlands have helped 200 people into homes, where they have received vital support to recover from complex mental health issues, substance misuse, and the physical effects of living on the streets. Commenting on the government’s claim, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Housing First is making a real difference to rough sleepers this Christmas. Read more about Housing First on the Speyejoe blog.

https://speyejoe2.wordpress.com/2019/12/26/housing-first-is-a-costly-charade/

Labour Announce £1bn ‘Moral Mission’ To End Homelessness

As part of new plans to fulfil the Labour Party’s manifesto pledge to end rough sleeping within five years, leader Jeremy Corbyn has announced major new plans. Pitched as a ‘moral mission’ to eradicate homelessness, the package includes:

·         A £600m Modern Hostels Fund for homeless accommodation with 5,000 additional bed spaces

·         £200m Hostels Transformation Fund to turn existing hostels into places where homeless people can “turn their lives around”

·         A new £100m a year scheme for emergency winter shelter, starting this winter

·         4,000 additional ‘Housing First’ homes and 4,000 new permanent ‘move-on’ homes, ring-fenced for rough sleepers moving out of hostel accommodation

Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/labour-announce-1bn-moral-mission-plan-to-end-homelessness/

£450,000 Funding Boost For Housing First Projects

Homeless Link has announced a funding injection of £450,000 to five existing Housing First provider across the UK. The Housing First Fund, funded by Comic Relief, aims to extend and improve the support offered to people experiencing chronic homelessness and multiple disadvantage, including physical and mental ill health, substance misuse and histories of offending. Homeless Link’s grants programme sits alongside and will feed back into its Housing First England project, which has been working since 2016 to promote and grow a “national Housing First movement.” Read more on the Homeless Link website.

https://homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2019/nov/25/funding-awarded-to-housing-first-services-to-enhance-support

Nottingham Association Becomes Latest To Join Housing First Scheme

Housing First models are continuing to gain traction across the UK. Now, Midlands based Longhurst Group have announced that they are the latest to join the scheme in bids to help tackle the issue on the streets of Nottingham. The Housing First model has been launched in Nottingham by Opportunity Nottingham, a service that works with people facing multiple disadvantage due to a mixture of complex needs; including mental ill-health, homelessness, substance misuse and involvement in the criminal justice system. Mark Garner, Project Manager for Opportunity Nottingham said: “Opportunity Nottingham is delighted to be launching this scheme in the City with the support of a number of social housing providers and Nottingham City Council.” Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/association-becomes-latest-to-join-housing-first-scheme/

and Speye Joe

https://speyejoe2.wordpress.com/2019/06/03/widdecombe-can-cure-gayness-she-probably-thinks-housing-first-can-work/

London Assembly Calls On Khan And Government To Push Ahead With Housing First

London Assembly members have called on the government and mayor Sadiq Khan to provide longer-term funding for Housing First to help homeless people. In a letter sent to housing minister Kit Malthouse, the London Assembly Housing Committee said the government should not wait until pilots in Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool have concluded before expanding Housing First funding. Another letter sent to the London mayor recommended a dedicated longer-term funding stream for Housing First projects. Read more on 

Inside_Housing and Speye_Joe

Sheffield Failure Proves Housing First Can’t Work Anywhere In The UK

A Housing First service in Sheffield has failed spectacularly as it could not find 10 suitable and affordable properties from either private or social landlords in a city of over half a million people and 240,000 households and properties. The Housing First model can’t even find housing in a low rent cost housing area such as Sheffield.  If a miserly 10 suitable properties cannot be found in Sheffield then what chance do the larger scale Housing First models to be operated in Liverpool and Manchester have and both of those cities have fewer housing properties than Sheffield? Read more on the Speye Joe blog.

https://speyejoe2.wordpress.com/2019/03/08/sheffield-failure-proves-housing-first-cant-work-anywhere-in-the-uk/

Black Country leads the way to provide free housing for rough sleepers

Ministers announced earlier this year that the West Midlands had been chosen to pilot the £9.6 million Housing First scheme, which provides homes for people sleeping on the streets. And the Express & Star can reveal that Walsall Council has led the way on the project, with the authority housing 29 rough sleepers so far. Meanwhile, Sandwell Council says it helped 40 homeless people into secure accommodation when the Beast from the East hit earlier this year. It came as West Midlands Mayor Andy Street announced a winter plan for rough sleepers aimed at combatting homelessness in the coming months. Read more on the Express and Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2018/12/17/black-country-leads-the-way-to-provide-free-housing-for-rough-sleepers/ 

Brokenshire Awards Funding To Reduce Rough Sleeping

Three areas in England are set to launch new pilot projects to support rough sleepers with complex needs get off the streets into stable and affordable accommodation, Housing Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has announced. The projects in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and the West Midlands Combined Authority will offer individuals intensive support to recover from complex health issues, for example substance abuse and mental health difficulties and sustain their tenancies. The pilot projects will be based on Housing First, an internationally-proven approach to supporting rough sleepers into long-term accommodation. Funding for the government’s Housing First Pilots was announced at Autumn Budget. Read more on the Gov UK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/housing-secretary-james-brokenshire-awards-funding-to-reduce-rough-sleeping

Housing First Is Only Part Of The Solution To Ending Homelessness

“Housing First is highly effective in ending homelessness among people with high and complex needs, but it does not constitute a solution to single homelessness, or rough sleeping, in itself” according to a new report by the University of York, commissioned by St Mungo’s. The report, ‘Using Housing First in Integrated Homelessness Strategies: a review of the evidence’ is by Professor Nicholas Pleace, of the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York. He finds that “international evidence shows that Housing First services need to be a part of an integrated homelessness strategy to be truly effective.” Read more on the St Mungos website.

https://www.mungos.org/press_release/housing-first-is-only-part-of-the-solution-to-ending-homelessness-according-to-new-research/

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.

Charities Call On Associations To Provide Housing First Accommodation

A homelessness charity has called on social landlords to provide homes for Housing First programmes across the country. Currently only 50% of Housing First projects have access to social housing, according to Homeless Link. Homeless Link has published guidance for social landlords on the purpose of Housing First and how it can benefit landlords. Housing First gives permanent housing to rough sleepers with complex support needs before tackling any problems they may have, such as addiction or mental health issues. Read more on Inside Housing.