In our response to the Scottish Government consultation on a Ministerial Statement for modifying local connection referrals in Scotland we reaffirmed our strong commitment to the suspension of local connection referrals in Scotland, endorsing the position that better housing outcomes are more likely to be achieved through increased choice for the households affected, than a strict application of a legislative test by a local authority.
We understand that any change in legislation brings with it a level of uncertainty, and agree with the need to monitor any impact of the change on a local authority’s ability to meet their homelessness and housing duties.
We do not anticipate that any impact on local authorities will outweigh the positive benefits achieved for those directly affected, and we support robust and transparent monitoring and reporting to be sure.
The latest update from Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder Tracker, published this week, shows that there have been no evictions since the Pathfinder began more than two years ago. More than 300 tenancies have now been created with just under 90% of people remaining in their home.
These latest numbers demonstrates the effectiveness of the Housing First model in supporting people going through the toughest times to build and live their lives.
The tracker for September 2020 shows 17 people moving into their own homes during the month, bringing the total tenancies created for the programme to 327. It is inspiring that 12 people in Glasgow have passed the two-year milestone in their tenancy, an example of the positive and sustainable outcomes being achieved by Housing First.
At Homeless Network we know the importance of working together and sharing knowledge.
We asked the people who make up our wider collective network some questions about their perspectives on the importance of shared learning, collective impact, the ingredients for successful collaboration, and their own unique contribution to the process of making change.
The risk and impact of homelessness is not distributed equally. Some groups of people are more affected by, overrepresented in, or excluded from the homelessness system.
This morning we kicked off the final day of Safe As Houses by exploring how homelessness discriminates in the same way as the pandemic and the consequences of this, including how this health, social and economic inequality affects us all and what levers we can pull to increase equality and advocate for a fairer society for all of us.
A discussion with Ruth Robin (Portfolio Lead (Place, Home & Housing), NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland) explored the importance and practicalities of joined up working across housing and health, particularly now that the pandemic has shone a light on the relationship between health and home.
We were thrilled to welcome Eloise Nutbrown (Policy Manager, COSLA), who launched the Everyone Home Collective’s latest route-map, setting out a new future for NRPF and the people it affects in Scotland in our session on ending destitution and protecting human rights. You can find out more about the route-map here
Homeless Network Scotland Change Lead, Michelle Major, hosted Deborah Hay (Policy & Partnerships Manager, Joseph Rowntree Foundation), Pam Hunter (Chief Executive, Say Women), Peter Kelly (Director, Poverty Alliance), Elodie Mignard (Programme Manager, Scottish Refugee Council andHomeless Network Scotland Board) and Ruth Whatling (Team Leader, Scottish Government) in a live lounge discussion exploring what it will take to create safety and equality in Scotland. The speakers touched on both positive developments that we can build on, as well as obstacles to creating a fairer and more equal society.
The afternoon’s theme “If We Don’t All Row, The Boat Won’t Go!” centred on how we each find our role to make a collective impact on homelessness, and the perceptions of wider society and its role in preventing homelessness before it happens.
Scotland has corrected its course to resolve homelessness with a new method, a national plan and 32 local plans. The new direction that all partners are now navigating promises better and more cost-effective results, but many obstacles to change still persist.
The spoken extract from a new book by award-winning journalist and author Mary O’Hara offered an insight into one of these obstacles; the toxic poverty narrative that often pervades conversations around homelessness. How we can overturn the deep-rooted portrayal that poverty is caused by personal flaws or ‘bad life decisions’ rather than policy choices or economic inequality is the central question of “The Shame Game”, and indeed a question that all of us working to end homelessness in Scotland grapple with.
The challenge of overcoming established narratives was also a central theme of the live lounge discussion which followed. Hosted by Carolyn Sawers (Deputy Chief Executive, Corra Foundation) and featuring Catherine Ashford (Strategic Communications Project Manager, Crisis), Fiona Garven (Director, Scottish Community Development Centre), Sylvia Douglas (Founding Director, MsMissMrs), Hannah Green (Lived Experiences Specialist, Centre for Homelessness Impact) and Twimukye Mushak (Senior Fieldwork Development Officer, Poverty Alliance), this discussion explored how the framing of homelessness and public perceptions have changed since COVID-19.
In the second launch of the day, Dr Beth Watts (Senior Research Fellow, Heriot-Watt University) unveiled important new research which aims to capture the scale and type of supported housing that is needed in Scotland, within a culture that remains open to choice, options and rights.
Representatives from the Change Team, an inspiring group of people with personal and frontline experience of homelessness in Scotland, hosted the next session, with a special surprise especially for Safe As Houses delegates!
The Everyone Home Collective, Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder and the Glasgow Alliance to End Homelessness – along with input from delegates on the day – shared thoughts and ideas on what can we learn from those reaching across sectors and professional boundaries to make a collective impact. With the takeaway message that ending homelessness in Scotland is possible if we work together on what works and what matters, this inspiring session helped us to rethink how we move towards a new culture of collective leadership and impact.
The day – and conference – drew to a close with a unique and thought-provoking goodbye story from Ishbel Smith (Founder, Heart in Mouth).
Across all three days of debate and deliberation, Safe as Houses provided an opportunity to reflect on the impact of the ongoing pandemic on housing and homelessness in Scotland. It has been a celebration of the extraordinary efforts across all areas – from colleagues on the frontline walking alongside people during the crisis, to policy makers shifting focus to protect people most at risk.
Crucially, it has also been a moment for us to come together to consider the aftermath of the pandemic and explore the challenges ahead – some new, some familiar – where we will need to sharpen our focus on housing supply and deepen our competence on inequality. We hope that you, like us, feel that across these three days we have laid the foundations of a shared understanding of how we can all move forward, together.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the final day, and all three days, of Safe As Houses such a success.
If you missed out, highlights and shared learning will be available on our social media channels over the coming weeks.
Let’s hear it for the policy writers, the strategy framers and the law makers!
Day 2 of the Safe As Houses conference was a celebration of the many unsung heroes of the moment, working rapidly to make substantial changes to law and policy to protect the people most at risk during the pandemic and lockdown.
But what now? Today, through the theme of “A Day in the Sun for Good Law and Policy” we explored how we can build from these successes to ensure that good law and policy translates on the ground, every time and for every person.
Today’s Ministerial Address and Q&A from Kevin Stewart MSP (Minister for Local Government Housing & Planning) was followed by a session with Marion Gibbs (Team Leader, Scottish Government) who provided an expert briefing that set the scene on recent and imminent law and policy changes to prevent and reduce homelessness.
Our live lounge discussion on the challenges and opportunities of good law and policy was a lively session, with Ian Brennan (Director of Regulation, Scottish Housing Regulator), Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick (Director of ISPHERE, Heriot-Watt University), Aaliya Seyal (Chief Executive, Legal Services Agency), Graham Thomson (Team Leader, Scottish Government), Alison Watson (Director, Shelter Scotland) sharing their views on the challenges and opportunities of good law and policy. Questions to the panel centred on what more can be done to make sure law and policy works on the ground.
The afternoon saw the launch of a new consultation on the role of the private rented sector as a solution to homelessness. This work is part of series of route-maps from the Everyone Home Collective and was led by Lucie Dunn (Senior Best Practice Officer, Crisis Scotland).
HARSAG recommendations…made easy? You bet! This speed training session covered all 104 recommendations in 15-minutes – a must for busy people who want to know the HARSAG bottom line. And a useful briefing ahead of the panel session that followed, “Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans: the Platform For Recovery”.
Marion Gibbs (Team Leader, Scottish Government) hosted Olga Clayton (Group Director for Housing and Care, Wheatley Group), Clare Mailer (Head of Housing, Perth & Kinross Council), John Mills (Head of Housing, Fife Council and Co-Chair, ALACHO), Jon Sparkes (Chief Executive, Crisis and HARSAG Chair) and Sally Thomas (Chief Executive, SFHA) in a live lounge discussion exploring RRTPS. While RRTPS have been described as the right platform for pandemic recovery, our panel explored the state of the nation and the question of when will RRTPs start to reap the rewards we all want.
Another jam-packed day concluded with a seminar chaired by Sir Andrew Cubie, exploring how we can take the politics out of homelessness and build a cross-party manifesto for ending homelessness in Scotland. With the 2021 Scottish Parliament Elections on the horizon, questions from the Everyone Home Collective, All in For Change Team and conference delegate were put to the main Scottish political parties.
If you didn’t manage to join us today, there’s still time to register for the final days of Safe As Houses, when our sessions “Same Storm, Different Boat” and “If We Don’t All Row, The Boat Won’t Go!” will explore the inequalities at the heart of homelessness and how we can make a collective impact on homelessness. Find out more about what’s still to come in Safe As Houses, and book your unique conference experience here
Thank you to everyone who helped make day 2 of Safe As Houses such a success. We hope to see you for day 3!
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