Category: Housing First

Every vote is a vote for Housing First

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Votes cast for one of the Holyrood parties in May’s Scottish Parliament election will be votes to help end homelessness for people with the toughest experiences.

Going into the election, all the Holyrood parties are backing a policy called Housing First, which international evidence, and experience in Scotland, proves is an effective method of ending homelessness for people with experiences such as trauma, abuse, addictions and mental ill health.

The policy has been running in six areas across Scotland since 2019 with the support of the Scottish Government. From April, it is set to roll out across most council areas and is the focus of our online conference taking place next week.

The approach provides normal, settled housing for people as quickly as possible rather than at the end of a long process that often fails to prevent or end homelessness and includes a support package tailored to the individual. Across the  Pathfinder areas there have been no evictions in the current programme out of 450 tenancies, with around 90% of those who started a tenancy remaining in their home.

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

“At least 8% of the Scottish population has experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. But we are not all at equal risk. Poverty is the main driver, and it is also linked to experiences going right back to childhood. Housing First should be the first response for everyone whose housing need is made much harder by trauma, addictions and mental health problems.”

“Housing First has rightly earned cross-party support and has also earned a long-term commitment from Scottish Government in the 20-year strategy for housing published this week. Why? Because it works. What has been achieved in Scotland is viewed as pacesetting by UK and international colleagues – but it wasn’t easy and this is just the start. Now we need the right and enduring resources and investment aligned at national and local level.”

Patrick McKay, Operations Director, Turning Point Scotland, said:

“Housing First is normal, it’s fairer and it works. If finding answers to society’s problems is the prize for those in government and opposition alike, then Housing First is a gift. In recent years in Scotland, more so since the pandemic began, resolving homelessness has resulted in increased cooperation and an acknowledgment that solving this problem is not impossible, but will take time.

“Turning Point Scotland helped to pioneer the Housing First model in its Glasgow pilot. Ten years on from that project we are ready to get behind the national challenge and help make Housing First a reality as a leading provider of support services.”

Professor Sarah Johnsen, of I-SPHERE, an award-winning research team at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, said:

“To my mind, Housing First works because of four key ingredients. Firstly, by offering long-term security of tenure and support it offers a stable platform, freeing up headspace for residents to think about things other than ‘what happens next?’ housing-wise. Second, the support is truly flexible, changing in type, intensity, how and where it’s delivered as needed. Third, is sticks with people, even after periods of disengagement or blips in recovery, which would typically result in exclusion from other services.  Finally, it offers a normal home in an ordinary neighbourhood, with respite from the stigma and potential harms associated with many homeless service settings such as hostels and shelters.”

The Housing First Scotland Conference titled ‘Branching Out’ takes place on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March hosted by Homeless Network Scotland in partnership with Wheatley Group. The conference is an opportunity to hear directly from those responsible for Scottish Government homelessness policy, including an address by Kevin Stewart MSP, Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning and Angela Constance, the Minister for Drug Policy as well as sector leaders across a day-and-a-half of activities and interactive sessions on three themes.

  1. Firm Foundations: 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.

View the conference programme and speakers by clicking here or 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.”

Scotland: Have Your Say on Housing First

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UPDATE: Consultation period has now ended.

A 90-page National Framework for Housing First in Scotland opened for consultation in November 2020. It is a ‘how to and why’ professional guide, setting out what each partner brings, and what each will need in order to make Housing First a success in all parts of the country from 2021.

Housing First provides ordinary, settled housing as a first response to redress the disadvantages faced by people whose homelessness is made harder by longer-term experiences such as trauma and addiction. The evidence base for Housing First is far stronger than for any other intervention for a group of people who have traditionally been poorly served by what is available to them.

Pathfinders in Aberdeen/shire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling launched fully in 2019. These local partnerships were tasked with exposing the challenges and difficulties encountered in scaling up Housing First across a local authority area, and to share that learning.

Homeless Network Scotland has drafted the Framework, with support from expert advisors from across national and local government, housing and support providers and the Pathfinders.

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

“Scotland is on a mission to scale up Housing First. It has cross-party support and a Pathfinder that has been guided expertly by the Scottish Government, councils and local providers. With scrutiny of local systems and processes by different sectors working in partnership, more people are being housed and supported more quickly.”

“What has been achieved in Scotland is viewed as pace-setting by international colleagues – but it wasn’t easy and this is just the start. If we really mean business it calls for a 10-year vision from politicians, housing providers and support services – an enduring commitment to create the right conditions for Housing First to flourish. This means the right investment, access to housing and delivered in a joined-up way with broader health and social care partnerships.”

International experience highlights Housing First as a catalyst for broader improvements in local housing and homelessness systems and this has been the early experience of the Housing First Pathfinders. Around 90% of tenants remain in their homes and a growing number are celebrating two years or more at home, with no evictions from the programme.

The National Framework draws from that learning and is designed for all organisations and sectors starting or scaling up Housing First in Scotland. It sets out the context in which the approach can be successfully delivered, and should act as a guide to planning, commissioning and implementing the approach. Importantly, section seven provides a ‘Live Status Report’, which will monitor progress toward achieving the right conditions for Housing First to be scaled up right across Scotland, in line with local need.

Maggie Brünjes added:

“This is a national challenge to redress the unfairness experienced by people whose homelessness is made harder by experiences such as trauma, addictions and mental ill-health. Each partner brings something unique – but also has a set of expectations of what they need in place to enable them to deliver. We want to hear from all individuals and organisations that have an interest in Housing First, or a role in delivering it.”

The draft National Framework for Housing First is available here.

Please follow @HFScotland for updates and email housingfirst@homelessnetwork.scot to discuss any element of the Framework.

Housing First National Framework Opens for Consultation

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This new and comprehensive 90-page National Framework is for all organisations and sectors starting or scaling up Housing First in Scotland. It sets out the context in which Housing First can be successfully delivered, and should act as a guide to planning, commissioning and implementing the approach.

Importantly, section 7 provides a ‘Live Status Report’, which will monitor progress toward achieving the right conditions for Housing First to be scaled up right across Scotland, in line with local need.

Housing First should be the first response for people whose homelessness is made harder by experiences such as trauma, addictions and mental ill-health. It provides ordinary housing in an ordinary community because this, for most people, is the best option. It combines settled housing with person-centred, strengths-based and flexible support – as much and for as long as someone wants it.

Please keep an eye on Housing First Scotland website for the consultation launch this week, and on social media at @HFScotland. For more information, training or learning opportunities, or to discuss any element of the framework in more detail, please email housingfirst@homelessnetwork.scot 

Housing First Scotland belongs to everyone who is helping Housing First become the first response for people whose homelessness is compounded by experiences such as trauma, abuse, addictions and mental ill health. It has been hosted by Homeless Network Scotland since 2016.

Homelessness Guide for Scots Councils

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A guide for Scotland’s 32 local authorities is published todaysummarising more than 100 recommendations from the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) after it was reconvened by the Scottish Government in response to the pandemic. The guide has been developed by Crisis and Homeless Network Scotland, with support from local authority officers and the Scottish Government.

HARSAG met originally in 2017 to recommend actions and solutions needed to eradicate rough sleeping and transform the use of temporary accommodation in Scotland. It also advised Scottish Ministers on how to ensure the recommendations are successfully implemented to secure rapid change and improvement. The Scottish Government reconvened HARSAG in June 2020 to help mitigate against the impact of the pandemic on this progress.

This latest series of recommendations endorse rapid rehousing as the key approach in preventing and resolving homelessness in Scotland and the right framework for recovery. There are also central asks of the UK Government on issues such as No Recourse to Public Funds.

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis and Chair of HARSAG, said:

“Scotland has made great progress in addressing homelessness in recent years, adopting rapid rehousing as a key policy at national level and publishing a Government Action Plan to End Homelessness.

“The Scottish Government reconvened the HARSAG in June in order to ensure this progress continues through the pandemic. The Group highlighted key actions local authorities and their partners must take to accelerate the elements of rapid rehousing which we know work best – preventing homelessness before it happens and prioritising safe, settled homes over temporary accommodation. 

“This short, simple guide will make it easier for local authorities across Scotland to implement HARSAG’s recommendations and refresh their rapid rehousing strategies in light of the pandemic. Local authorities and partners now have clear guidelines on how to work together to help end homelessness for good.”

Elena Whitham, COSLA Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, said:

“Local Government is committed to working with partners to end homelessness, and this short guide is intended to support the transfer of the national recommendations and policy into local delivery. We know that although we have all experienced the pandemic, its effects and impacts have not been the same across the country, however significant challenges exist for all. I hope this guide, provides useful assistance in our shared ambition of ending homelessness in Scotland.”

Maggie Brünjes, Chief Executive at Homeless Network Scotland, which worked alongside Crisis, local authority and Scottish Government colleagues to produce the guide said:

“Councils in Scotland are at the centre of the response to Covid in so many ways. The guide is a simple tool to assist local authorities transfer into delivery the main themes sitting behind over 100 recommendations. It highlights what they mean for councils’ Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans, which all local authorities have produced, and sets out the roles and actions expected of key partners.”

The recommendations recognise that, on account of the pandemic, Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans (RRTPs) must be adapted and the data informing them reviewed, and some of HARSAG’s original recommendations must be accelerated, emphasised or broadened in focus.

The four key themes in the guide are: 

  • prioritise prevention
  • broadening settled housing options
  • deepening the equalities focus
  • creating a responsive system with ‘no wrong door’.