Author: Janice Higgins

Supporting people without a settled address to vote in the Scottish Parliament election

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Anyone who wants to vote in the election must ensure they register by midnight on Monday on 19 April. People who don’t have a settled address or are experiencing homelessness can register to vote. 

The Electoral Commission’s guidance for professionals who work with people experiencing homelessness is available to download here. This was developed with support from the Everyone Home Collective. 

If you have any questions after reading the guide you can contact your local Electoral Registration Office. You can find their details by entering the postcode for the address which the person you are supporting would like to register at here. 

If you would like to raise awareness about voting in the election, you can download digital and print resources from the Electoral Commission here. 

BOOKING OPEN for ‘Branching Out’ Scotland’s Housing First Conference 2021

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Booking is now open for ‘Branching Out’ the 2021 Housing First Scotland conference, an essential online event in partnership with the Wheatley Group to shape the next steps and launch the National Framework for Housing First.

Mark 23-24 March in your diary and view the 2-day programme and speakers by clicking here. You can also get in touch about the sponsorship and other opportunities we still have available by emailing hello@homelessnetwork.scot

There will be opportunities to hear directly from those responsible for Scottish Government homelessness policy, as well as sector leaders from health, housing and homelessness organisations across a day-and-a-half of activities and interactive sessions.

  1. Firm Foundations: The first theme this year covers Housing First as an integrated policy priority with shared financial commitment, and shared outcomes. This theme includes the launch of the National Framework for Housing First in Scotland.
  2. Olive Branches: Successful local partnerships are central to the success of the Pathfinder. Learn how local Housing First partnerships have been formed, how they function, why they work and what aspects have been more challenging.
  3. Low & High Hanging Fruit: in theme three we explore the practical lessons learned, the early successes, and some of the growing pains. This theme will help us grow, improve and connect Housing First as it starts up in most Scottish council areas during 2021.

This is a pivotal year in the transition of Housing First towards becoming the default and rapid response for people whose homelessness is made much harder by experiences such as trauma and addictions. From pilots to Pathfinder, and now branching out across Scotland, the national challenge is to keep growing, while learning and improving as we go.

With three themes across two days, you will hear personal testimony, conversations, keynotes, lively panel discussions, sharing of data and knowledge, and, as always, the opportunity to get involved.

View the 2-day programme and speakers by clicking here.

Book a place at one, or all, of the sessions by clicking here.

It’s no error – Housing First Pathfinder hits 404

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The first data on Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder since the start of the year indicates the programme continued to scale up despite Covid restrictions. The total tenancies created by Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder up to 31 December 2020 was 404, with an additional 22 added that month.

The key indicator of ‘tenancy sustainment’, which shows how many people kept their tenancy, remains high over the full first year of the Pathfinder, this month showing 88 per cent. This compares favourably to USA and European examples.

Housing First provides ordinary housing as a first step rather than at the end of a process that often fails to prevent or end homelessness. It includes a support package tailored to the individual and is proven to be a better and more lasting response for people with experiences such as trauma, abuse, addictions and mental ill health who experience homelessness. 

Returns for December show that Glasgow, the city with the highest number of homelessness applications in Scotland, hit the significant 150 tenancies milestone. Aberdeen / Aberdeenshire stands at 80, with the highest percentage of people remaining in their home at 93 per cent. In Dundee, the number of tenancies is 64, more than half their target; Edinburgh has 92 and Stirling 11, over halfway towards its target of 20.

Sir Andrew Cubie, Chair of the Housing First Scotland Advisory Group, said:

“This hugely significant milestone is wonderful news, coming as it does after such a challenging year. Through continued successful partnerships across the Pathfinder areas, and in defiance of the virus and its impact on normal life, more than 400 people have now moved into a safe, secure home of their own.

“The excellent support that is in place has resulted in a high number remaining in their home, and still no evictions have taken place from tenancies created through the programme. As Housing First takes root in local authority areas across Scotland the learning and experience accrued by Pathfinder areas will, I believe, prove immensely important in the months and years ahead.”

Doug Gibson, Programme Manager for the Housing First Pathfinder at Homeless Network Scotland, said:

“Local consortia across the Pathfinder continue to offer Housing First support to people under incredibly difficult circumstances. Sometimes this is delivered remotely, other times by socially distanced meeting outdoors, but the importance of remaining ‘alongside’ tenants is uppermost in the minds of support workers and the teams providing services and advice. As Housing First rolls out across Scotland this year, people with the toughest experiences who have yet to move out of homelessness know there is a resilient, sustainable way forward that lets people build and live their lives in a home of their own.”

Winter Warmer: £50 cash for people in temporary accommodation in Scotland

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*Applications are now closed.*

From today (Wednesday 20 January 2021) Homeless Network Scotland will be distributing a £50,000 Scottish Government emergency fund offering one-off cash payments of £50 for people who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation in Scotland.

People can apply directly, or support or advice workers can nominate for the ‘Winter Warmer’ payment on a first-come first-served basis by visiting https://homelessnetwork.scot/winter-warmer/.

Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning Kevin Stewart MSP, said: “I am pleased we have been able to fund Homeless Network Scotland’s Winter Warmer project. This funding will be used to help people with essentials, or just something extra, and is part of our £100 million winter support package, to support people with the additional financial pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, EU Exit and winter. We have also provided over £5 million for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness to accelerate rapid rehousing plans.”

A growing body of evidence supports direct cash transfers as an effective way of targeting support in a way that retains people’s choice and control. This is the second round of cash support from Scottish Government for people affected by homelessness since the start of the pandemic. In the spring of 2020 Homeless Network Scotland applied successfully for a grant of £100k provided as part of the Scottish Government’s initial emergency response to the pandemic, managed by SCVO and the Hunter Foundation. By June, over 1000 payments of £100 had been made.

Maggie Brünjes, Chief executive at Homeless Network Scotland, said: “We know that the pandemic has meant a longer stay in temporary accommodation for many, and we want this money to reach people who could do with it as quickly as possible. It won’t remove the most pressing problem, or reach everyone, but we hope it can ease some immediate pressure during the winter months. Our thanks to Scottish Government for enabling this considerate and effective approach.”

Apply directly, or for someone you support, here https://homelessnetwork.scot/winter-warmer/.

For general enquiries email hello@homelessnetwork.scot

Media enquiries, contact Martin Gavin, Head of External Relations at Homeless Network Scotland mgavin@homelessnetwork.scot

Prevent homelessness closer to home in 2021

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Amid growing concern about the impact of Covid on the housing and financial situation of thousands of Scots, 31 organisations in the Everyone Home collective are urging people in communities and those running local services to prevent homelessness closer to home this year, and beyond.

On the basis that all homelessness starts in a community, Everyone Home, which includes charities and leading academics, has published a detailed Route Map to protect people’s housing in communities across Scotland.

With this increased focus on prevention, the collective is appealing to health professionals, community planning partnerships, community councils, local authorities and grass roots services, groups and networks to inspire local conversations in 2021 aimed at preventing homelessness before it starts.

Maggie Brünjes, Chief executive of Homeless Network Scotland, said: 

“In 2021 there will be more pressure on people’s finances, our relationships and our coping strategies due to the pandemic. These are also the circumstances that can create homelessness, at a time when frontline services are pushed to the brink. All homelessness starts in a community – communities also host many brilliant local groups and services that could reach and support people earlier, and closer to home. Local conversations that simply ‘ask about housing’ can reduce stress and worry and help improve people’s housing situation before it escalates into homelessness.”

This latest Route Map, the fourth to be produced by Everyone Home since the collective was launched in May, identifies the factors that increase the chance of homelessness and the protecting factors that can help prevent it. The collective is inviting more local conversations with two clear objectives:

  • Ask about housing when people you connect with or provide a service to have money worries or problems at home, ask about housing and listen to what would help.
  • Act on what people tell you make introductions to local advice and support services and encourage people to get help. The quicker people act, the more chance there is of preventing homelessness.

Ewan Aitken, Chief executive of Cyrenians, said:

“It’s not right that people have had to go through the experience of homelessness before getting the support they need. We can do better.  As well as universal measures such as a strong social security net, we should not understate the importance of relationships in preventing homelessness. Prevention at a local level is key. By empowering local communities and delivering accessible relationship-based services in ordinary settings which do not feel like ‘interventions’ we can prevent homelessness from happening in the first place.”

Deborah Hay, Scotland Policy officer at Joseph Rowntree Foundation said:

“We all need a warm, secure, home we can afford – this year has emphasised that more than ever. The pandemic has intensified the pressures facing low-income households, already struggling to keep their heads above water. At JRF we are deeply concerned that the growing economic storm will pull more people under by increasing the sort of pressures that can tip people into homelessness. But we can prevent homelessness by boosting the supply of social housing, agreeing a just approach to addressing rent arrears and by making homelessness prevention an urgent, shared priority for all local services. Working together we can identify people at risk early and get the right support in place quickly.”

Kate Polson, Chief executive of Rock Trust, said:

“At the Rock Trust we work with teachers, families and youth workers to enable them to identify and access the support and information required to prevent youth homelessness. Communities are the key to preventing homelessness as they aren’t just the place we live but they are the people we see daily. We need to think of homelessness as more than a housing issue, it’s a family, health, education and employment issue and we need to work together across communities to prevent it.”

Jon Sparkes, Chief executive of Crisis, said:

“It’s clear that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it happening in the first place. This route-map from the Everyone Home Collective is a timely reminder that while homelessness starts in the community, the solutions for addressing it lie there too.  Homelessness isn’t inevitable – that’s why we want to make preventing homelessness a national priority. We must all work together to support people at risk of homelessness to stay in their homes or to find a safe, secure, settled home when they need it. Through joined-up services, rooted in local communities, we can make sure that when homelessness does happen, it is brief, and that it doesn’t happen again.”