Tag: homelessness

Housing First branches out from April

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Doug Gibson has been involved in the adoption and scaling up of Housing First through his role as programme manager for the Housing First Pathfinder. As the approach extends across most council areas in Scotland starting from this week, he considers how it could help end large scale homelessness for good.

When I visited Finland in early 2020, I was struck by the confidence and pragmatism of this small nation, the only European country where homelessness is falling. It’s hardly surprising that the policy underpinning that success, Housing First, has more and more fans here in Scotland where the policy is well established, and also in the other GB nations and regions.

For decades the problem was viewed as intractable, a stubborn feature of metropolitan life in cities around the world, including those in the richest countries like ours. In attempting to resolve homelessness all manner of schemes and solution were broached and implemented, short of providing people with a home. The alternate approach of the Fins is simple. In 2007 they adopted Housing First as the anchor for a wider political vision to address the toughest experiences of homelessness as part of a rapid rehousing approach.

Finland ‘s enviable record since can be actively attributed to their adoption of the Housing First model, a system pioneered in the USA that is evidence based, compassionate and abandons notions of blame or deserving.  There is now an overwhelming body of international evidence showing that, with close fidelity to the Housing First principles, most tenants are likely to stay housed – and feel benefit in many other ways too.

In Scotland’s Housing First Pathfinder, which operates across five areas, the approach has delivered 87 percent housing retention rates in the first two years of the programme. This statistic – up there with the best international comparisons – tees up a range of benefits for both individuals and society as we begin to mainstream the policy across the country in this, the third and final year of the Pathfinder.

It improves health outcomes and decreases contact with community justice, in turn reducing A&E admissions and improving cost-effectiveness of service delivery. It is replacing chaos with support and temporary accommodation with permanent and there have been no evictions out of more than 450 tenancies created.

Many people who have taken up a tenancy through the programme have typically struggled in life, following adverse childhood experiences, negotiating multiple challenges and obstacles along the way such as trauma, addiction, poor mental health or physical disability and other forms of severe multiple disadvantage.

Estimates suggest that more than 800,000 adults in Scotland have experienced all three of the indicators of severe multiple disadvantage: homelessness, substance dependency and offending. Homelessness is the most common of these when viewed over an adult’s lifetime and a study for the Scottish Government in 2018 states that at least eight percent of the Scottish population had experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. When you consider this percentage also represents the entire population of Scotland within the UK, it is clear why the issue matters to us all.

If finding answers to society’s toughest problems is the prize then Housing First is an attractive, integrated solution. In recent years in Scotland, more so since the pandemic began, resolving homelessness has resulted in regular co-operation and an acknowledgment that solving this problem is not impossible, but will take time. We must trust the evidence that says if we stay the course Scotland could be the other country in Europe where homelessness is falling.

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.

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.”

No ‘let-up’ in Covid response

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“The winter months ahead could have a devastating impact on people who don’t have a home, we must get this right.”
Maggie Brunjes – Chief executive, Homeless Network Scotland

Charity and academic sector leaders will use this year’s Scottish homelessness conference from Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 October to urge people and organisations in Scotland that are concerned about homelessness to keep up the pace as winter approaches.

A rapid response from the sector and government in March focused on getting people inside. The online event titled Safe As Houses will explore what is needed to build on that success and continue progress made before the pandemic so that homelessness services – and the people directly affected – are not left carrying the can for a global health pandemic.

Homeless Network Scotland organises the annual event, which this year offers delegates a choice of seminars and interactive online sessions, with more than 300 booked to attend. Event partners for the 2020 conference are Bethany Christian Trust and The Salvation Army.

The Scottish Government’s updated Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan published earlier this month, is the backdrop to one of the cornerstone sessions at the conference on Wednesday, an interactive Q&A with Kevin Stewart MSP, Scotland’s Minister for Local Government, Housing & Planning.   

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

“Few of us will emerge from this pandemic unaffected by it, but not everyone is in the same boat. The pandemic has laid bare the inequality and unfairness at the root of homelessness. How can you stay at home if you don’t have one, and how can you remain safe at home if that home isn’t safe?”

“This is the first opportunity since the start of restrictions for all those concerned about homelessness in Scotland to connect on this scale. We want to highlight the extraordinary efforts of individuals and organisations during the first stage of the pandemic, from those experiencing homelessness who faced added uncertainty on top of an already stressful situation, to colleagues on the frontline walking alongside people during the crisis. Plus the many, many people behind the scenes shifting focus and financial support to where it was needed.

“Now, almost eight months in, there must be no let-up in the pace needed to get everyone home. There is no good time to be homeless, but the winter months ahead could have a devastating impact on people who don’t have a home – we must get this right.”

The  Safe as Houses conference is built around five themes.

  1. A global pandemic: drawing out international learning and comparisons on responses to homelessness.
  2. Whatever the problem, the answer is relationships: exploring the role of relationships as the lynchpin for professional and personal wellbeing.
  3. A day in the sun for good law and policy: building from recent successes to ensure it is upheld on the ground every time and for every person.
  4. Same storm, different boat: redressing the unfairness at the root of homelessness and the impact of the pandemic and its aftermath.
  5. If we don’t all row, the boat won’t go getting alongside each other – in all our different roles – to make a collective impact on homelessness.

Lydia Stazen, Director of the Institute of Global Homelessness in Chicago, is taking part in one of the first sessions on Tuesday morning titled ‘What Just Happened?’, which also includes panel members from India and Holland for a global perspective.

Lydia Stazen said: “The past six months have accelerated global efforts to end homelessness and taught us so much about what works – and what doesn’t. Safe as Houses provides a platform to adapt and tailor those lessons for Scotland.”

Sir Andrew Cubie, Chair of Scotland’s Housing First Advisory Group, will chair a political discussion on Wednesday afternoon titled, ‘Taking the ‘P’ Out of Homelessness’. Ahead of the Scottish Parliament Elections in May this seminar will debate how to take the politics out of homelessness in Scotland, with all five political parties at Holyrood invited.

Sir Andrew Cubiesaid: “In this most difficult year, and as we approach a winter of acute concern, I welcome the opportunity of gathering folk together again who are dedicated to bringing homelessness, as we know it, to an end.”

Pat McArdle, CEO of Mayday Trust, joins the conference for a session as part of theme two, ‘Whatever the problem, the answer is relationships’. This theme will explore the role of social connectedness as the lynchpin for personal and professional wellbeing, and why ‘kindness’ is returning to the language of support, with a stronger focus on fixing the big problems like access to money and housing.

Pat McArdle said: “I am genuinely delighted to be part of this conference with all the key stakeholders in the room bravely discussing the real-world issues raised by people themselves who are going through the toughest of times.”

Booking is essential, reserve a place at Scotland’s annual homelessness conference and set up a profile ahead of the event to join on Tuesday 20 October 2020 from 10am.

A bigger ambition to end destitution in Scotland

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Twenty-eight influential charity and academic sector organisations working to end homelessness will start consulting from Monday (17 August) on the second in a series of Route Maps designed to permanently end rough sleeping and destitution (1) in Scotland as the country emerges from the pandemic.

The Collective, named Everyone Home, includes many household names and respected organisations working to end homelessness in all parts of the country. Together, they have agreed a ‘triple-lock’ of measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on homelessness with:

  • more homes
  • no return to rough sleeping
  • no evictions into homelessness. 

The second Route Map considers issues facing people who do not have access to the welfare benefits and housing options that are available normally in Scotland for people at risk of homelessness. This is described as having ‘no recourse to public funds’ and most commonly affects people seeking asylum; those appealing decisions are most affected, with around 50% of appeals subsequently upheld. Some EEA nationals without settled status are also at risk of destitution and homelessness because they cannot access some help and benefits.

There are around 1,600 destitute asylum (2) migrants in Scotland, of whom around half are in Glasgow. A further group of 2,050 destitute EEA migrants in Scotland are also at severe risk of destitution. 

Chief executive of Scottish Refugee Council (SRC), Sabir Zazai, said:

“People in the asylum system are forced into destitution due to the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) policy, a deliberate decision by the Home Office. Today’s Route Map provides a clear solution to prevent destitution. It is essential that the issues facing people with NRPF are part of mainstream housing policy. For Scotland to eliminate rough sleeping, everyone, no matter their immigration status, must be protected and have access to a safe place to stay. Scotland has a proud history of welcoming and supporting people. This route map is an important step in working towards an even better future for people seeking safety in this country.”

The Route Map explains in detail how people in Scotland are destitute as a direct result of UK legislation. This can mean little or no money to meet basic needs, such as food, medicine or access to washing facilities. Having no recourse to public funds is for most people a temporary experience but can be the catalyst for poor mental health, rough sleeping and physical or sexual abuse. The Route Map aims to mitigate the damaging impact of that experience until their status is legally resolved or reconnection with a person’s country of origin is made, with a forward plan in place to ensure destitution is not experienced in another place.

UNESCO Chair: Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts, Alison Phipps OBE, said:

“There has now been over a decade of academic research, third and public sector commissioning and substantial activism with regard to the critical levels of destitution affecting a range of populations in Scotland. The death rates attributable to destitution and poverty are rising and well-documented. The voluntary sector is stretched to the limit financially and emotionally. This report from the Collective is timely and urgently needed.

“It is time to value the analyses and to implement the deep structural change which will move vulnerable populations out of repeated crisis, and volunteers and workers out of emergency response mode. I am delighted to endorse its findings and energised by its calls to action.”

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

“When the pandemic began to unfold in March rapid emergency support was provided to everyone who was destitute regardless of their immigration status. As we move into autumn there is a significant risk of people once again being forced onto the streets or into unsafe living arrangements, experiencing extreme poverty and at risk of exploitation and abuse – all the problems we were trying to deal with previously. 

“It doesn’t have to be that way. The response earlier in the year demonstrated that ‘destitution by design’ is unnecessary and there is now lower tolerance for, and higher ambition to end, this situation in Scotland. This is the time to act and put in place measures that will make sure no one experiences destitution in Scotland as emergency measures are lifted.”

From Monday (17 August) to the end of September Everyone Home is consulting widely on this Route Map. Anyone wishing to comment or contribute to the document can contact: hello@everyonehome.scot  or telephone 0141 420 7272 and/or join the conversation on social media at #EveryoneHome – more information at www.everyonehome.scot