Author: Jamie Milne

Homeless Network Scotland event report: Staying the course in a perfect storm

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More than 70 colleagues joined a Homeless Network Scotland online event that explored the action we need to get out of the housing emergency while ensuring people’s rights are met and best housing outcomes are achieved today and in the long term.

Attendees and contributors from across councils, homelessness, housing, lived experience and academia lent their expertise and insight to Staying the Course in a Perfect Storm: Prioritising homelessness in a housing emergency.

Homeless Network Scotland's February event, Staying the course in a perfect storm.

They were asked to consider: What do we need to Defend, Direct and Divert to ensure we have the right systems, resources and values that will drive the best housing and support outcomes for people in Scotland now, while paving the way to a better long-term future?

Put another way, what do we protect, where do we bring clarity, and what do we need to do less of? And in what order? 

As a jumping off point, we used the ‘Defend, Direct, Divert’ route-map created collaboratively by 250 attendees at last year’s annual homelessness conference (find it here, with a conference report). We need to defend the culture change that’s been achieved in homelessness over recent
decades, with progressive rights and a solid plan for moving people on from temporary accommodation and into settled homes quickly.

We need to direct and influence each other on how to make rapid rehousing a reality, how to increase housing supply, improve prevention and achieve the outcomes in the Ending Homelessness Together plan. And we need to divert time, money and effort towards doing more of what works and away
from falling back on the failed solutions of the past.

Read more on the event and some of the key takeaways we heard in a short event report.

Read the report

New homelessness prevention duties need system thinking

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The Everyone Home collective and All in for Change have asked Scottish Government to target prevention funding toward small scale pilots that can enable close observation of pathways and processes that will need opened up to implement the new ‘Ask and Act’ homelessness prevention duties effectively.

This recommended course of action from the collective highlights that through action inquiry and a place-based approach, relevant bodies and local partners can enable learning on what it will take to implement the new duties and, importantly, to share that learning across

The collective and the Change Team set out a series of recommendations for defining the scope of the pilots and gathering learning in a new paper. Read it here.

Homelessness prevention pilots paper from the Everyone Home collective

It comes after the Scottish Government announced £4million of funding in 2025-26 to pilot and scale up prevention work. The collective welcomed the pilots and resources as an opportunity to ensure that the statutory prevention framework is robust for full implementation of the new duties.

Everyone Home also said this work will also ensure that local practice and national policy is aligned and strengthened around the foundations that need to be laid so the housing and homelessness system turned towards a prevention focus.

Everyone Home is a collective of 36 academic and third sector organisations focused on housing and homelessness in Scotland.

All in for Change is the national platform for people closest to the issue of homelessness in Scotland, through personal experience or working in direct advice and support roles. The Change Team acts as a feedback loop between people working in and experiencing homelessness now, and decision makers in local and national government and across housing, health and social care.

Seminar on intersection between violence against women and homelessness

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The Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) is hosting a seminar to present new research on the relationship between violence against women and homelessness.

Research Fellow Dr Lynne McMordie will draw on recent qualitative research in Northern Ireland that illustrates how abuse by intimate partners, family members, and strangers can lead to both acute and chronic housing insecurity.

Many women reported being forced from their homes – sometimes fleeing multiple times – even when they held legal tenancy or ownership rights. Systemic failures, including inconsistent police responses, inaccessible or weakly enforced protection orders, and exposure to further violence within homelessness services, further entrenched these cycles of violence and homelessness.

The seminar will take place online on March 26, 2025 from 11:00am-12:15 pm.

Sign up here.

March Network Briefing

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The latest Network Briefing brings news on the work of Fair Way Scotland, Housing First Scotland, and the Everyone Home collective. And you’ll find reports and research from Shelter Scotland, Rock Trust, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, and more.

Read the briefing

March and April training bulletin

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Since the last training bulletin, we delivered a refreshed equality and human rights course which learners described as “superb” and launched our very first blended rough guide course as flexible eLearning and a live workshop.

We also finished a series of four lectures to trainee doctors and medical students, sharing the stories of people experiencing homelessness and the transformational impact that medical teams can have when they are more human. 

Here is a summary of what is coming up in March and April, perfect for lifelong learners, actioning your annual appraisal or for designing a team training plan.  

What’s new?  

  • Join Clan Childlaw for a short training session about the new law that public authorities need to be compliant with to ensure children’s rights are fully realised. Reserve a ticket for 30 April.  
  • Our brand-new digital learning space is ready for you to explore and perfect for staff, volunteer and board inductions. Get in touch to talk about delivering one of our courses or something bespoke across your organisation.  

 
Upcoming Homeless Network Scotland training dates 

We bring good vibes, a blend of direct and academic evidence, and you bring the questions. Our online training sessions are a great opportunity to network, share examples of good practice and learn from experts.  

  • Homelessness stigma; a conversation 18 March 
  • The unequal risk; an equality and human rights lens on 3 April 
  • Trauma informed approaches; beyond buzzwords to better outcomes 24 April 

Training and events about navigating the immigration system 

Navigating the immigration and housing system is increasingly complex, especially with new immigration rule updates that mean people who arrived seeking safety in the UK via a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship. There are lots of helpful events to better understand people’s rights and eligibility to public funds, including housing and homelessness assistance.  

  • Free series of trainings about resisting the hostile environment in public services with Social Workers Without Borders, Migrants Organise and PAFRAS. Running March – July and starting with The Power of Words: Reframing the Migration Narrative on 18 March  
  • Free seminar to celebrate World Social Work Day with the Scottish Association of Social Work about supporting young people seeking asylum in the UK, on 20 March 

Wider training and webinars for the homelessness workforce 

  • Frontline Network run a series of free training for the workforce including suicide awareness and professional resilience 

To suggest a training topic you would like to see on our programme, or to send us details of webinars, learning events or workshops for including in the next training bulletin, please email laura@homelessnetwork.scot