Tag: homeless

Future of supported housing report launched at Glasgow event

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The Supported Housing Task and Finish Group, appointed by Scottish Government and COSLA, has published its final report, recommending that national and local emergency plans should prioritise work focused on reducing temporary accommodation and the better targeting of shared and supported forms of housing. 

The report was launched at Queens Cross Housing Association’s Wellbeing for Young People service in Glasgow on 24 July.

Housing Minister Paul McLennan, left, toured the modern facility which gives people aged 16-25 self-contained accommodation with flexible support, and chatted with residents.

This was followed by a webinar that offered an overview of the report from Homeless Network Scotland chief executive Maggie Brunjes and Scottish Federation of Housing Associations policy lead Eileen McMullan, who co-chaired the Task and Finish group, and a panel discussion and Q&A.

Read the report and policy timeline

The minister praised the facility and told the Glasgow Times there could be opportunities for social investors who the Scottish Government has met with to get involved in similar projects.

The report charts a new direction to position supported housing more confidently among the range of housing options available. It recognises that most people can build and live their lives in an ordinary home as part of an ordinary community, but that supported housing should be available for a very small proportion of the population who are unable or don’t want to live in mainstream housing.  

This should be a settled housing option for as long as someone wants it, and therefore breaking the stigma of ‘homeless’ supported housing altogether. The research clarified that people don’t want to share a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen, but do want the option of shared spaces. 

The group also set out a vision of the best spaces for people to live in, the support on offer, and the funding and commissioning challenges and changes needed to make the report’s aspirations reality. Its report follows a comprehensive review over 14 months that drew on new research of people using shared accommodation and a survey of local authorities.

a person washing dishes

Key recommendations from the evidence-led review include:

  • An ideal model of supported housing offering a self-contained home in a smaller-scale setting, with its own bathroom and cooking facilities, easy access to great support, some common space, and consistent quality standards.
  • Maximising security of tenure for tenants plus fair funding arrangements to make sure no one is stuck in a life-limiting ‘benefit trap’ created by high rents.
  • Moving to a joint funding and commissioning model between health and social care partnerships and local authorities, to break the ‘care group’ stigma attached to supported housing’s legacy as shared ‘homeless’ accommodation.

The Task and Finish Group report provides recommendations to the Scottish Government, local authorities and housing providers to create a model that enables social landlords to remodel or reprovision existing models of supported housing.  

The group built on work in the Shared Spaces research which clarified the role of supported or shared housing as a settled home option for the 2 to 5 per cent of homelessness applicants who are locked out or opt out of a mainstream tenancy.  

The review was informed by evidence from expert contributors on housing and support themes, a survey of 19 local authorities providing supported accommodation across Scotland, case studies of existing good practice, and lived experience expertise. 

Shona Stephen, QCHA chief executive, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Housing Minister to our new housing development for young people. We are very proud of the exceptional quality of accommodation provided by Queens Cross Housing Association and by its Housing First for Young People support team.   

“We work together to provide homes for young people and the support needed to allow them to flourish in their tenancies. Our success is rooted in kindness, in never giving up and in a shared commitment to our young people across the organisation from staff to Board Members.  The benefits of close collaboration between the support team and the landlord can be seen in the successes achieved by the young people themselves.” 

Maggie Brunjes, Homeless Network Scotland chief executive, said: “Homelessness policy has undergone radical modernisation in recent years and transforming the way supported housing is used to support a small group of people is the final piece of the puzzle.  

“While this report arrives in a landscape dominated by the housing emergency, it sets out all the evidence and the steps needed to reframe supported housing as an option that will help to address homelessness for people facing a range of social, health and economic disadvantages. Queens Cross Housing Association provides an excellent example of how that is done.” 

Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “I welcome the publication of this report, which explores how supported accommodation can make a positive contribution to preventing and responding to homelessness.   

“The Scottish Government remains committed to tackling homelessness and improving the supply of social and affordable housing in Scotland. We will carefully consider all of the recommendations set out in the report and will respond in due course.” 

Sally Thomas, Chief Executive at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations said: “It’s essential that our housing system is fair and meets everyone’s needs, particularly at a time of a national housing emergency and record homelessness. 

“This vital report sets out the importance of a joined-up, multi-agency approach and one of the core aims is to help to reduce the stigma of supported housing. 

“Queens Cross Housing Association, like many SFHA members across Scotland, not only provide high quality, warm, affordable homes, they also offer a vital lifeline in supported housing to help individuals overcome many of the barriers associated with homelessness.”

Housing First in focus: Glasgow

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From 31 tenancies in 2018 to 318 total tenancies today, Housing First has scaled up in Glasgow, providing homes with flexible support for people whose homelessness is complex and often tied up with issues including mental health and addiction.

The city’s Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) works successfully with Housing Associations to provide Housing First homes, with a current target of 600 tenancies.

A sample of 20 tenants shows that prior to their tenancies they made a combined 220 homelessness applications, some dating as far back as 1994 – Housing First clearly works to keep people facing overlapping disadvantage in tenancies.

Eleanor Lee, Principal Officer for Housing First at Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, says the city has learned on the job and refined its processes over the last six years in the face of unprecedented pressures. Here, she sets out how the system operates to ensure people’s wellbeing needs are met.

My team consists of a team leader, senior addiction practitioner, eight assessment officers and a resource worker supporting governance.

The first step is a referral to Housing First – anyone can refer you and you can self-refer. A crucial new addition at this stage is an in-depth pre-screening of candidates, looking at their historical data on our systems.

The idea is to assess risk, look at how systems have responded to a person’s needs and trauma, what needs to happen this time to keep a person in a tenancy. A care manager has input from the start of the process. The assessment is also available across the HSPC systems, meaning applicants don’t have to repeat their story again and again.

We then link up with a Registered Social Landlord who has accepted the tenant to discuss matching their needs to a tenancy and raising any potential issues.

Successful applicants sometimes have to wait for upgrades to a void and it can be a challenge keeping them stable in temporary accommodation while they wait. But some of our tenancies have been out of this world. Low-level, great condition houses. It’s not all perfect but there’s really been an effort here to make the best offer.

A care plan is then put in place. When someone is moving into a new type of tenancy, wraparound support and building a relationship with a support worker is critical.

In Glasgow we recognise that a good relationship with a Housing Officer is important too, and they will meet the tenant before the tenancy. The tenant is more likely to flag problems if they have a rapport – say the water’s off, they might not tell their care manager or support worker.

Landlords often add in a bit extra – a starter pack, or fire-resistant bedding if a fire risk has been identified – instead of refusing housing which would have happened in the past. The aim is to prevent issues arising in the first place.

Once the tenant has moved in, six and 12-week reviews are carried out with them, in the property, to ensure they’re safe and well before we sign-off on the tenancy. They may be vulnerable to exploitation or self-harm, like cuckooing and hoarding. There is a part missing though. When your life has been chaos for 20 years you might not know how to run your home, how to keep it clean and tidy. People should have the opportunity to learn these skills before their tenancy starts.

During the tenancy, a cycle of care managers will be on board to get responses within the HSPC to things that aren’t going right – this is where a whole systems approach comes in.

There is an issue around mental health services; our shared understanding of the issues is unclear. Sometimes we’ll see a tenant struggling mentally even after a community practice nurse has said they’re fine. We’ll try to look back in whether through the adult support protection route, the care manager, a service review – whatever needs to be done.

Quite often when we start assessment people have burnt their boats with their family, and after coming into Housing First they re-establish connections.

One tenant was in the Bellgrove Hotel hostel in Glasgow for 14 years. His marriage broke down, he was separated from his wife and kids, he lost his job, was drinking heavily and had anger management issues. He now needs no support and has re-engaged with his family. He told us: “I’m not angry at life now – I’m happy with life”. Others have moved on in recovery, they’re going to university, taking courses.

The final stage is the overview. We have a weekly live caseload with updates on cases from the support organisations, and a fortnightly case management meeting to highlight concerns about tenants.

We work with the wider homelessness system in Glasgow, liaise with RSLs and provide six-monthly Scottish Government monitoring report with qualitative information about tenants, looking at their journeys rather than seeing people as numbers. Reporting includes within the GCCHSPC and to the Integrated Joint Board. There is a huge amount of governance and reporting but you need to understand how things are going.

During Covid there were no lets and we’ve not properly recovered. There’s big pressure on homelessness from leave to remain cases, from indigenous presentations, and a downturn in availability of housing. Referrals are more than double the 318 tenancies.

But looking at the statistics, of the 61 people in tenancies in 2021/22, 45 are still there, which is remarkable. You can see how the system of assessment is improving, support is improving and having an impact. It’s amazing to see.

Homelessness guidance films for health staff

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More effort and targeted approaches are often needed to ensure health and social care for people experiencing homelessness is available, accessible, and provided to the same standards and quality enjoyed by everyone, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Based on that key principle, NICE produced a guideline for people working in health and social care as well as senior leaders and service commissioners – and has now created a series of short and engaging films to help staff. To raise awareness of the NICE guideline we’re sharing the films. Find them below: 

‘Housing First is our best tool to combat homelessness’

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A homelessness expert in the US has written about the successes and challenges of Housing First in Washington State – also providing an insight into how Housing First is viewed there.

Writing in The Seattle Times, Paul Carlson says: “The persistence of homelessness frustrates everyone, no matter your politics, beliefs or assumptions.

“However, the strategy of moving homeless people directly into housing that also provides social services is tried and true.” 

Carlson goes on to spell out why the state must not give up on Housing First despite a media backlash, and offers practical solutions for making the system work more effectively for those who need support the most. 

Read the article.

West Dunbartonshire declares housing emergency

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A housing emergency has been declared in West Dunbartonshire amid unprecedented pressures on the ability to meet the needs of those in social housing or seeking a council property.

The local authority said Housing and communities Convener Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal made the declaration and urged the Scottish Government to review the decision to cut the Affordable Housing Supply Programme allocation to West Dunbartonshire by 27% (£2.873m) for 2024/25.

The Housing and Communities committee heard significant progress has been made in the past year to cut the number of empty homes, while 133 new council homes were built and 262 households were prevented from experiencing homelessness.

But Councillor Johal said the council had no choice but to declare an emergency because of stark figures including over 5,500 households on the housing waiting lists, 274 people living in temporary accommodation and over 1,000 homeless assessments being carried out.

The motion received cross-party support and will now involve the Council engaging with both internal and external partners to map out a way forward.

Councillor Johal said: “This decision has not been taken lightly but I sincerely hope that this can help lead us on the path of greater stability for everyone in our communities, especially those who are facing homelessness and unstable accommodation.”

West Dunbartonshire Council is the fifth local authority in Scotland to declare a housing emergency following similar moves within the past year by Argyll and Bute, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife.