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21 Visions, 1 debate -what did 21 of your colleagues from across the sector say about ending homelessness? Invisible Women - improving the support available for homeless women - and realising that one size doesn't fit all. Everything to Play For - the Homeless Football Association on how the national sport can be so much more than just a game. And much more...
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INVISIBLE WOMENHow can we improve the support available for homeless women - and realise one size doesn’t fit all?
EVERYTHING TO PLAY FORThe Homeless Football Association on how the national sport can be so much more than just a game.
21 VISIONS 1 DEBATEWhat did 21 of your colleagues from across the sector say about ending homelessness?
HOW DO WE ENDHOMELESSNESS?
JOIN THE DEBATE
CONNECT JULY 2012, ISSUE 46 | WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK
8-10 17-28 38 & 39
CONNECTTHE MAGAZINE OF THE HOMELESSNESS SECTOR
ISSN 2046-2921
WELCOME CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
PASSION, SKILLS& CREATIVITY:PATHWAYS TO WELLBEINGOne-day conference supporting homeless people to improve their wellbeing through sports, arts and outdoor activities.
Looking after our wellbeing isn’t always easy, especially for someone experiencing
homelessness.
But the path to independence can be assisted when someone is helped to feel more
positive about who they are and the future they’re able to achieve. There are practical
steps you can take to help improve the wellbeing of the people you support.
This event will give you the tools to plan and run a range of sustainable, inclusive activities
to help your clients improve their wellbeing.
25 SEPTEMBER 2012 | BIRMINGHAMhomeless.org.uk/event-wellbeing | 020 7840 4461
WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK 3
WELCOMECONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
IN CONNECT 46UPFRONT
Matt Harrison - Director of Business & Enterprise.
SECTOR ROUND-UP
Recent news from the sector.
NAC SPOTLIGHT
National Advisory Council update from Jon Cox.
INVISIBLE WOMEN
One size doesn’t fit all in homelessness services.
Jane Bancroft asks how can we improve the support available for homeless women.
NOT WORKING
Paul Anders revisits the theme of CONNECT 45
and asks what we can learn from the results of
our new survey of homeless people who have
experienced the Work Programme.
MEET RICK HENDERSON
We invited members, clients and colleagues
to interview him Homeless Link’s new CEO Rick
Henderson. Here’s what he told us...
THE IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGE
Kathleen Caper looks at four key Welfare Reform
issues and what you need to do about them.
21: WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO END HOMELESSNESS?
A 12 page special with 21 opinions from across
the sector on ending homelessness - and an
invitation to join the debate
A CURE FOR HEALTH
Poor hospital admission and discharge has been
a problem for homeless people for too long. While
some hospitals are getting it right, Helen Mathie
asks what will it take for the rest to follow?
BETTER ENGAGEMENT, BETTER OUTCOMES
Jon Bramley of Two Saints reports on their recent
personalisation pilot.
RECIPE FOR A PERFECT NSNO
What ingredients do you need for a ‘perfect’
NSNO approach? Lisa Reed explains.
THAT’S THE WAY THE MONEY GOES
One year on from the launch of the £20m
Homelessness Transition Fund, Samantha Rennie
steps back to see how it’s working.
THE SHORTLIST
Meet the shortlisted entrants from this year’s
Michael Whippman Award - in pictures.
EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR
In the Olympic year, Lindsey Horsfield looks at
another exciting sports development that is
happening right here in the homelessness sector.
TAKE A STEP - THE HOMELESS HACK
Shaun Forde took part in one of the more tech-
savvy steps we’ve heard about to date.
MANAGING PEOPLE
In her regular column, Helen Giles looks at what
we need to do to keep the creative juices flowing.
MISSING PEOPLE
A new helpline service can help homeless adults
to reconnect.
WHAT’S ON?
RESOURCES
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www.homeless.org.uk/connect
NEXT IN CONNECT: In CONNECT 47, as 2012 draws to a close, we’ll look how efforts to end rough sleeping and
homelessness have evolved during the Olympic year. Story to share? Get in touch - [email protected]
SUBSCRIPTIONS: to subscribe or take out additional subscriptions, please email [email protected]
EDITOR: Martin Reed COVER IMAGE: Choir With No Name singing at the Royal Opera House in With One Voice.
4 WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK
UPFRONT CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
Sometimes we need to forge ahead, stubbornly confident that we’re on the right path. As a sector, it’s something we’ve become good at – especially in recent years – knuckling down and getting on with things, in the face of adversity.
But sometimes we should pause for a moment. We need
to look at where we’ve come from, look ahead to where
we’re going. We have to step back and make sure we
have the right blue print to achieve our ambition of
ending homelessness.
We’ve arrived at one of those moments now. In 2010, we
published ten steps to ending homelessness in England,
but much has changed since then. Homelessness has
risen as a result of the recession, services across England
have faced unprecedented cuts to funding and
Government has embarked on a massive programme of
welfare reform.
With the arrival of Rick Henderson to take the reins as CEO
of Homeless Link, it is a good time for us to take stock and
refresh our plan to end homelessness.
WHAT MATTERS?We have started running regional and national
discussions with Homeless Link members about their
priorities and ideas – tapping into the expertise,
experience and passion that drive you. How can we
prevent people from becoming homeless and, if they
do, ensure they get the support they need to regain their
independence? What services do we need in place?
How can we fund them? These are just some of the
questions we want to answer.
This debate is continuing throughout the summer –
and we want you to take part. We know that of all the
staff and clients across our 500 member organisations,
everyone has their own ideas of what it will take to end
homelessness. We know that some are optimistic about it,
while others are less positive. We’re a diverse group – and
we hope to hear a diverse range of solutions.
Do get involved. It’s essential that we hear from all
quarters – because ultimately this will help to steer our
own work and how we campaign on your behalf.
To join the debate, turn to our special 12 page feature
on ending homelessness, starting on page 17, to find out
what other members are saying.
A SHARED VISIONOur vision must not change. We want an England where
the right help prevents homelessness before it begins,
where no one lives on our streets and where anyone who
has been homeless is supported to take control of their
future.
But why shouldn’t we take it a step further than that?
MAKE THE EXCEPTION THE RULEI think sometimes we presume there’s a limit on how much
we expect people to move on with their lives. We put
a lid on their potential. This struck me when we heard
about the richly deserved OBE awarded to Jimmy Carlson
recently.
Jimmy, a former soldier, slept rough for 23 years – but
since turning his life around in the late 1990s he has
dedicated his life to improving services for homeless
people. We were overjoyed for him, many of us at
Homeless Link having been involved with him through his
work with Groundswell – and you can read more about
him over the page.
But as I looked through the other names on the honours
list – all the Kate Winslets and Gary Barlows, all the leaders
and heads of organisations, the sort of people everyone
expects to see on an honours list – I couldn’t help but
question whether, on balance, there should only be one
person on the list who has experienced and recovered
from homelessness.
Perhaps as a society, there’s room for us to rethink how we
gauge and acknowledge real achievement – and how
UPFRONT
WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK 5
NEWSCONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
we judge what people are capable of.
I’m writing this on 2nd July, and in a few hours some of
us will be preparing to head to the Royal Opera House
for With One Voice. Presented by Streetwise Opera and
part of the London2012 Festival, this concert showcases
the skills of 300 performers who have experienced
homelessness. It’s the first time that homeless people
have been featured at the heart of an Olympic event.
It’s a celebration of their talents and a reminder that we
shouldn’t presume a limit on people’s potential.
MEET RICK HENDERSONI have spent the last 7 months holding the fort at
Homeless Link, and I shall now be handing over to
Rick Henderson. Rick comes to us from the national
membership organisation Action for Advocacy that he
set up in 2001 and led for 11 years. He brings a wealth of
experience and skills to Homeless Link. However he won’t
know many of you. I know he’ll be spending as much
time as possible over the next few months getting out
and about across the country visiting your projects and
meeting as many of you as possible. He’ll also be at all
our national events and as many regional ones as he can
fit in. In the meantime, you can find out a bit more about
him in his interview on page 12.
Homeless Link is a great organisation to work for. And a
large part of what makes it great is the connection with
our members. Your dedication and determination to end
homelessness provides us with the energy to sustain our
vision.
Matt Harrison Director of Business & Enterprise Homeless Link
We’re staying positive in this edition’s Sector Round-up – focusing on two stories that have inspired us over the past few weeks.
THREE HUNDRED PERFORMERS, ONE VOICEOn 2 July, 300 performers who have experienced
homelessness took part in a concert at the Royal Opera
House, Covent Garden. Presented by Streetwise Opera,
the aim of the event was to ensure that the talents of
homeless people were showcased at the heart of London
2012.
Between acts, we caught up with Matt Peacock, founder
of Streetwise Opera and one of the organisers of the
event. He said: “It’s amazing to be in the Royal Opera
House – it feels like it should have happened many, many
years ago, but it’s great that we’re here.
“What’s been amazing is that the performers have just
been so courageous. There’s been such great humour
– in spite of some of them having to get up at 5am this
morning to get down here. We’ve all felt very united.
We’re doing something that’s changing people’s
attitudes towards homelessness. It feels significant that
we’re doing it at the London 2012 Festival. We’re telling
another story about homelessness – one of achievement
and celebration. What I’d like people to take away from
seeing tonight’s show is respect, understanding - and
perhaps that homelessness is something that can happen
to anyone.”
That sentiment was echoed by Streetwise Opera
SECTOR ROUND-UP
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NEWS CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
performers Craig Williams, Jo Williams and Darren Power
after the show. Craig, who met his wife Jo through the
group, said: “We’ve all been homeless, we’ve all been on
the streets. We’ve all had people walk past us, pretend
we weren’t there. I think something like this can make
people open their eyes to something they couldn’t see
before.”
The concert featured solo and group artists from all over
the country - from choirs and theatre groups, to singer
song-writers and poets.
Following on from the event, Streetwise Opera has
launched a petition to the International Olympics
Committee, calling on them to make sure that homeless
people have a presence in all future Olympics.
Sign the petition online - go to: bit.ly/olympic-petition
AN OBE FOR JIMMY CARLSONCongratulations to Jimmy Carlson, who spent nearly
quarter of a century living on the streets and in hostels
– but is now set to receive an OBE for his services to
homeless people.
Jimmy spent 23 years addicted to alcohol, before
becoming abstinent in 1996 and dedicating his life to
improving homelessness services.
Over the past fifteen years, the 64 year old Londoner
has advocated the importance of listening to the
experiences of homeless people and involving them in
overhauling services and improving policy.
He has set up numerous client involvement groups
inspiring thousands of homeless people to transform their
lives and the lives of others. Through his involvement with
Groundswell, Jimmy has brought homeless people into
contact with ministers from both the New Labour and
Coalition Governments.
Most recently, he was a member of the Homeless People’s
Commission which collected the views of homeless
people and presented their policy recommendations to
the House of Lords.
Much of Jimmy’s involvement work was done in
collaboration with Mark Flynn (another inspirational
former service user, who went on to carve a successful
career as a social researcher, before he sadly passed
away in 2010) who was the lead in creating the Haven
Club – a social space where people in recovery from
substance misuse could meet in an alcohol and drug free
environment to help each other get their lives back on
track. Starting with a £500 grant, Jimmy has now raised
over £100,000 to keep the club going.
We asked Jimmy what advice he would offer to services
about giving more voice to homeless people. He told us:
“I’ve always advocated that you need to listen to what
homeless people are saying. There’s a vast knowledge
and experience there. The only people who really know
what it’s about are the people who are going through it.
“People need to be involved in their support. They
shouldn’t be mollycoddled. Most of my adult life I was
institutionalised – in the army, on the streets, in hostels.
Independence was taken away from me.
“The best you can do for homeless people is to let them
make a contribution. Do that, and it can lead to great
things. Once I started helping out and volunteering, my
confidence and self-esteem just grew. I had a voice.”
LEFT: Merger performing at With One Voice RIGHT: Matt Peacock of Streetwise Opera
Jimmy Carlson (right) with Mark Flynn
WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK 7
NACCONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
The March gathering was
an extraordinary event that
highlighted the significant voice
and influence Homeless Link
affords its members.
We were joined by a wider group
of members, from across the
regions, to a consultation with
DCLG’s Interministerial Working
Group on Homelessness. We discussed the role of the
voluntary sector in homelessness prevention, the need
for practical commissioning, and provision based on an
integrated health, social care and housing response.
In their concluding remarks members hammered home
the value of housing related floating support in the role of
community based homelessness prevention.
In June, we were asked ‘Where next for homelessness?’
and discussed at length what the end of homelessness
will look like – how do we know when we’ve achieved
it? Will the sector need to reconfigure to achieve this –
and if so how? And what are the pros and cons of using
the word ‘homelessness’ as a banner for the sector?
You’ll find some of our thoughts on those questions in the
special feature “Green Paper for a blueprint’ on page 19.
WELFARE REFORMWe cannot avoid talking about Welfare Reform at the
moment – although many might wish we did not have to.
We talked about...
Universal Credit: we discussed the devastating effect
direct payments to clients might have on evictions and
abandonments, clients’ resettlement options, and levels
of debt. Accommodation based services represented
at the meeting said this could make their services
economically unviable. Move on providers suggested it
might reduce the level of private rented sector tenancies
available to our clients by as much as 70%.
Review of exempt accommodation: we considered the
potential impact of the proposed changes and the key
messages we would like Homeless Link to take forward.
These included a plea for any tiered system of payments
for eligible service charges to be heavily consulted on,
and that it be sophisticated enough to recognise the
often legitimate differences in running costs of seemingly
similar services. Allowances have to be enough to meet
actual and necessary costs for services to remain viable.
Related client and organisational needs: we looked
at how Homeless Link can continue to help clients, staff
and senior managers - through its critical influencing
work and by providing timely information via its regional
managers, best practice tools, consultancy, and targeted
training as final decisions are made.
THE MEMBERSHIP DEALIndependent consultant Colin Sherriff is conducting a
review of how Homeless Link is working for its members.
He would particularly like to hear from members on what
they think ‘the deal’ should be between members and
Homeless Link - including expectations from either side.
To feed into that, please email him at:
On a similar note, I have asked for a review of NAC
membership. We want to make sure that all types and
sizes of service are represented, as well as the specific
regions. For that reason, we’re mapping the diversity of
Homeless Link’s membership and comparing it to the
current NAC mix. Once we’ve identified any gaps, we will
target recruitment to fill them.
WELCOMING RICK HENDERSONThe council felt that unity behind a clear vision and
leadership is the way forward at this critical time for
homelessness services. For that reason, we eagerly
welcome the arrival of new CEO Rick Henderson.
Jon Cox, Two Saints - NAC Chair
NAC SPOTLIGHTHomeless Link’s National Advisory Council (NAC) have met twice since my last column - in March and June - two very different meetings that really made the most of the experience of Homeless Link’s members. www.homeless.org.uk/contact-nac
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CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46FEATURES
INVISIBLE WOMENThere are plenty of examples to demonstrate how a ‘one
size fits all’ doesn’t work in homelessness services. I’d
argue that there’s nowhere it can be more clearly seen
than for women who find themselves homeless.
A women’s journey into homelessness will often have
different characteristics to that of a man’s. There is
frequently a history of domestic violence, traumatic loss
of children/family and a childhood characterised by
unstable housing and often abuse or neglect.
Women’s homelessness is also characterised by a lack
of contact with statutory homelessness services. CHAIN
data in London shows that on average 10-15% of rough
sleepers are women and over half of those living in
temporary accommodation are women.
St Mungo’s Battered Broken Bereft report 2011 recorded
that 19% of their female residents have slept rough, but
anecdotal evidence points to that figure being much
higher. A survey carried out by Crisis in 2006 found that
62% of women who responded to the survey had slept
rough, some for long periods, often in places where they
would not be visible and away from sites of male rough
sleepers.
THE UNSEEN ISSUEHomelessness amongst women is often a hidden
problem, which explains the wide variation in reported
figures. Women frequently take extreme measures to
avoid the dangers of sleeping rough – living in squats,
returning to an abusive partner, engaging in sex work,
living in crack-houses, sofa surfing – even committing
minor crimes in order to be taken into custody.
These situations often intensify the woman’s situation.
It keeps them hidden and without access to services
that can help. A Women’s Aid Federation of England
report published in 2009 identified that the majority
of refuge clients did not seek advice from their social
housing landlord before leaving home to escape
domestic violence. Many women are missing out on the
opportunity of support, especially at an early stage.
The current approach to annual street counts may also
miss counting some homeless women. Counts often occur
in the early hours of the morning, which will exclude
women who sleep rough at different times of day and in
different locations to men. There’s a very real chance that
this might distort the figures, with fewer women appearing
in the counts – and giving the perception that rough
sleeping is largely a male phenomenon.
COMPLEX NEEDSHomeless women often have extremely complex support
needs, including alcohol and substance use, as well as
physical and mental health problems. Due to perceived
challenging behaviour, they often find themselves
actively excluded from services, many of which do not
have the resources or expertise to support them – or even
adequately acknowledge the gender differences in
mixed gender services.
Here’s a snapshot of female clients in St Mungo’s services:
• Two thirds have a mental health problem
• More than half have a substance use issue
• Half have a significant physical medical condition
• More than a tenth have a history of being in social
services care
In the wake of an event organised by Homeless Link, Women’s Resource Centre and St Mungo’s, highlighting the needs of homeless women, Jane Bancroft looks at some of the issues – and asks what we need to do to make sure Homeless Link’s members are able to properly support women through their services.
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CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46 FEATURES
• Over half have experienced violence or abuse from
a partner or family member
• Four in ten of those who have slept rough have been
involved in prostitution
• Almost one in ten are pregnant, have given birth or
have had an abortion in the last year
• Almost half of St Mungo’s female clients are mothers.
A GAP IN PROVISIONOn the Homeless UK website, of the 8395 services listed
only 672 (8%) are women only. 143 of these services are in
London.
In London there are only two women’s specialist projects
for women with high support needs: one run by The AVA
Project, the other run by St Mungo’s.
According to a six monthly report from London’s No
Second Night Out, 19% of people supported by the
service were women - higher than the percentage
identified in official street counts and estimates. The report
notes: “A small number of women (five) have abandoned
the hub because they do not wish to stay in a room with
many men, and a number of other women have reported
feeling uncomfortable about this. The hub is therefore
not fully accessible to all women, nor appropriate to their
needs.”
The Battered, Broken and Bereft report underscores the
lack of support services to help women, especially those
who have slept rough after fleeing domestic violence or
have more complex support needs. It found that 35% of
women who have slept rough left home to flee domestic
violence – and that on average, they have more support
needs than those who don’t sleep rough.
ADDRESSING NEEDSSome services are beginning to respond to the needs of
this group. With the London wide roll out of No Second
Night Out, a women-only hub has been created.
While the East London Housing Partnership, is in the
process of launching a project that can support women
who have a local connection to East London. Crucially,
they will be able to offer specific support for multiple
needs - including substance misuse, physical ill health,
mental health issues, and survival of abuse or involvement
in prostitution.
The project will provide support for rough sleeping or
homeless women who need intensive support, including
a pathway of diminishing support to prepare them to live
independently.
Meanwhile, St Mungo’s has carried out a detailed review
of women using its services, based on outcomes data.
The review found that while women scored well in the
areas of self-care and physical health, the main areas
of need were substance use, social and emotional
Image copyright Georgina Cranston, from her www.wherefromwherenow.org project
10 WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK
CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46FEATURES
wellbeing, offending history and their use of time. On first
arriving in a service, women are more likely to score lower
on the Outcomes Star than other groups – for instance,
women scored 2.9, older male drug users scored 5 and
clients waiting for a flat scored 8.7.
What St Mungo’s realised was that their approach and
methodology were not always appropriate for women.
The result is that they have developed their three year
Women’s Strategy, overseen by a coordinator, to evolve
and improve what they are able to provide.
REBUILDING SHATTERED LIVESBut they also acknowledge that the same difficulties are
being faced by women across the homelessness and
social care sectors.
Their response is Rebuilding Shattered Lives. This new
campaign will run for 18 months and aims to raise
awareness of women’s homelessness, to showcase good
practice and innovation and, ultimately, to improve
services and policy for the future.
The campaign will look at nine themes as it builds a
comprehensive national showcase of innovative and
successful practice and policy driving lasting change for
women in need.
St Mungo’s would like to hear from organisations, front-
line workers and especially homeless women themselves,
about how best to prevent women’s homelessness and
support their recovery. These might include services
that meet the complexity of needs of homeless and
vulnerable women, women’s homelessness prevention
services, move-on housing for women and examples of
good cross-boundary working or innovative funding for
services.
The deadline for submissions for the first theme - housing
and homelessness services for women with complex
needs – is the end of July. The second theme, to be
launched in August will be on domestic abuse and
women’s homelessness.
FUTURE APPROACHESThe specific practical solutions to women’s homelessness
might be as complex as the problems – but the principles
are not.
Based on what we know about what has helped and
what has hindered homeless women to rebuild their lives,
we need to focus our efforts around a number of key
principles.
We need high quality services that can meet the
person, emotional and social needs of women, as well
as housing, health and work. We need to make sure
staff are equipped to understand women’s needs, and
develop partnerships with other agencies and sectors to
guarantee this. We need to increase opportunities for the
involvement of female clients in evolving the services that
help them – and we need to keep talking to them, using
peer research to investigate why women are currently
achieving poorer outcomes than men, and what can be
done about it.
And returning to the fact that one size really doesn’t fit all,
we need to encourage the development of dedicated
projects for women.
Jane Bancroft is Homeless Link’s London Development Officer homeless.org.uk/women
For further reading, turn to the Resources section on the back cover.
Image copyright Georgina Cranston, from her www.wherefromwherenow.org project
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COMMENTCONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
NOT WORKINGIn the March edition of CONNECT, I expressed concerns
that the Work Programme - a key strand of the Coalition’s
“Get Britain Working” initiatives - isn’t geared up to meet
the needs of those furthest from the job market.
To improve our understanding of this, we carried out a
survey of clients in homelessness services. We plan to
publish the results soon but the themes coming through
from responses so far echo our concerns.
FOUR ISSUES, FOUR SOLUTIONS
Barriers are not being assessed: many members feel
that the housing needs of clients are either not being
considered even if not in permanent accommodation.
We recommend a change of practice, rather than a major overhaul – providers of the Work Programme should ask how effective their diagnostic tools are.
Quality of service: many members question whether
their clients are getting enough support with some
reporting that clients never attended any training or
employment activities.
We recommend providers make their minimum service offer more specific. What can clients expect?
Sanctions: Some services are reporting that clients have
been sanctioned and lost some or all of their benefits.
We recommend extending the duty to consider the vulnerability of clients – because the same things that disadvantage people in the job market will make it difficult to engage in a structured two year programme.
Incorrect referral route: We are concerned that many
homeless people are being referred to the wrong group -
as JSA “mainstream” rather than JSA “Disadvantaged”.
Referral via the wrong group is to nobody’s benefit: we recommend a quick review process for providers to return a case to JCP for reassessment.
THE ALTERNATIVESBased on DWP’s own estimates, around two thirds of
Work Programme customers will not get a job. This may
disproportionately include homeless people and others
furthest from the job market.
By not helping homeless people to find work there will
be significant costs later - estimated to be in the region
of £26k per year per person. By comparison, the level
of payment available for contractors support someone
in the JSA Disadvantaged group looks low - a nominal
maximum of £6,600 over 2 years.
WE’RE ASKING THE GOVERNMENT TO RETHINK
DWP should create a new client group with higher
payments for Work Programme contractors, to avoid
those supporting JSA Disadvantaged clients earning as
little as £800 for two years of support under payment by
results.
The funding model needs to be varied, attracting income
from other government departments or local authorities
via Community Budgets. This might fund additional
services, wage incentives or specially created temporary
jobs for this client group.
Outcomes of disadvantaged clients must be measured
on the ‘distance travelled’ towards being ready for work.
We strongly support efforts – from government or
elsewhere - that support people into work, but based on
what we have seen so far, we are concerned whether
the Work Programme will work for homeless people.
In particular, the use of sanctions will always present
a significant risk to people already living in precarious
situations.
We await the publication of the government’s own Work
Programme performance figures later this year with
interest.
Paul Anders is Employment Manager at Homeless Link homeless.org.uk/get-britain-working
In CONNECT 45, we looked at what the government is doing to support homeless people into paid employment. Paul Anders revisits this theme and asks what we can learn from the results of our new survey of homeless people who have experienced the Work Programme.
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COMMENT CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
You’ve come to Homeless Link from your previous role as CEO of Action for Advocacy. Can you tell us about your work there?
Action for Advocacy is the umbrella body for advocacy
groups in England and Wales, with over 500 members.
We did lots of the same kind of work as Homeless Link:
promoting quality; training and capacity building; policy
and campaigning. We also established an advocacy
specific quality mark called the QPM. Before that I
worked in community development and also managing
residential care services.
So it’s your first day at the Homeless Link offices. You’ve got your coffee, settled in behind your desk. What’s first on your to do list?
Well I’ve already had my first day as I’ve been coming
into the office to do my induction before I officially start
full-time. My initial priorities are meeting the team and
Trustees; reading up on the great work of the organisation
and hopefully meeting as many members as possible.
How do you plan to get to know the sector, the people who work in it and the people it supports?
There’s no substitute for legwork! I plan to visit as many
member organisations as I can during the first few weeks,
to see how services are supporting homeless people and
how they are implementing No Second Night Out. I also
want to ask people how the cuts are affecting their ability
to help people.
How do you think your experience of advocacy might translate into your work at Homeless Link?
First and foremost I am passionate about human rights
and about people having a voice and having choice
and control over their lives. I want to help create a
society where every individual is valued regardless of
their circumstances. Advocacy
enables people to access
services and support but it also
empowers, by giving people
the confidence and skills to
speak up for themselves. I
think there is a real need
for advocacy for homeless
people and I’d like to see
more developments in this
area in the coming years.
How should homelessness services be advocating for homeless people? How should Homeless Link be advocating for our members?
It’s all about giving people a
voice, listening to what they say
and taking it seriously. Advocacy is
also about being non-judgmental:
accepting other peoples’ points of
view even if they differ from your own
– that’s true for homeless people and
of course Homeless Link members!
It’s a challenging time for the homelessness sector – with increased demand for reduced services. Members have had to make difficult decisions to keep providing services. How do you see Homeless Link’s role in supporting them through that?
I think in two key ways: firstly,
continuing to lobby Government
MEET RICKHENDERSONAt the beginning of July, Rick Henderson took the reins as Homeless Link’s new CEO.We invited members, clients and colleagues to interview him. This is how he answered...
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for increased resources to tackle homelessness and its
causes. Secondly, by supporting frontline organisations to
make the most of opportunities that arise and be more
effective with the resources they do have.
How can we make sure that the most excluded people - those with multiple needs - remain at
the heart of Homeless Link’s work and at the top of the political agenda?
Well, the Making Every Adult Matter
(MEAM) work that we are doing
in partnership with Clinks,
DrugScope and Mind has led
the way in this respect. Now
we’d like to see coordinated
approaches rolled out across
the country and this will be
the focus of our work next
year. We all know that timely,
coordinated, person centred
support may cost more in
the first instance but can
save money and improve
outcomes in the long term.
The challenge will be getting
local commissioners to invest
in the work but I think the
evidence speaks for itself.
What are your first impressions of how the
homelessness sector is working? Should we carry on
as we are, should we lobby for more of the same? Or should we
radically redesign ourselves in order to survive the cuts and better serve growing demand?
My first impression of the sector is that
it’s a very broad church, with lots of
different approaches being adopted.
That can be a good thing if it’s being
driven by the diverse needs of local
communities but I think that individual
service users should be able to expect a
certain level of quality and consistency
from any service they access. I also think
that as a sector we should embrace
personalisation much more than we
currently do and that’s something I want
Homeless Link to lead on.
Two newspapers publish an article about homelessness. One focuses on costs, facts and figures – looking to learn from the trends. The other focuses on personal experience – looking to learn from the human impact of homelessness. Which do you read first? And why? Personally I’d be drawn to the human interest story every
time, although I understand the importance of producing
statistical evidence in support of a particular cause.
We’re going to end homelessness. Discuss. Yes we are! But it may take a while. Ending rough sleeping
is a first step towards that ultimate aim and of course
there has been significant progress in the past few years.
The only cloud on the horizon is the current cuts that our
member organisations are facing locally which threaten
to reverse the trend and put more people on the streets.
That’s why we need to keep pressure on Government
at all levels to maintain their commitment to end
homelessness as well.
As part of our Take a Step campaign, we’re inviting everyone to tell us the step they’re taking to help end homelessness. What’s your step? I’m helping to end homelessness by ensuring that
Homeless Link continues to provide a strong and effective
voice for our sector.
We hear you’re lead singer in a band. What discounts can you offer Homeless Link members on tickets for upcoming gigs?
Actually I’m the lead singer and guitarist in a Stranglers
tribute band! I doubt if any CONNECT readers are old
enough to remember the Stranglers though...
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THE IMPLICATIONSOF CHANGE
Prime Minister David Cameron told us in June that the
whole thrust of his government’s welfare reform is about
“transforming lives - helping people walk taller.”
It’s an easy bit of rhetoric that probably fits better as a
description of the work you do than as a summary of a
government directive – and for that reason, it’s relevant
here.
As the reforms kick in, we need to keep asking what we
can do to make sure the changes don’t hold clients back
from transforming their lives and walking taller – and that
they don’t hinder the work you do to support people –
because there’s a very real risk that they will.
We need a welfare system that prevents homelessness,
supports recovery from it, doesn’t disadvantage
vulnerable people – and that works with homelessness
agencies to help them provide the services that people
need.
Whether or not that’s how the Government sees it, we still
need to be aware of what the changes mean, and when
and how we’ll feel their impact.
UNIVERSAL CREDITCentral to the reforms is Universal Credit. It is the broad
umbrella that covers many of the most significant
changes for clients and services. Under this system,
claimants will receive all elements of their benefits – Job
Seeker’s Allowance, housing benefit, child benefit, etc – in
a single monthly payment. The individual and cumulative
effects for you and your clients could be profound.
2 IMPACTS ON SERVICESAN END TO THE EXEMPT ACCOMMODATION RULEThe current Exempt Accommodation Rule allows eligible
service charges to be covered by housing benefit.
It recognises the higher cost of providing hostel and
supported accommodation – and that these costs should
be met by housing benefit.
The Department of Work and Pensions believes the
Exempt Accommodation Rule is incompatible with the
fully centralised decision making model of Universal
Credit.
One of the proposals debated in a consultation last
autumn was to replace the Exempt Accommodation
Rule with a Local Housing Allowance for basic rent, with
local authorities administering the payment of additional
costs through an allocation from the DWP. The risks are
that a vacuum will be created, where there is no explicit
responsibility for meeting the higher housing costs of
vulnerable people. The DWP have been very clear that
their plan is for any change to the system to be ‘cost
neutral’ and that it is not seeking to reduce funding
WHAT CAN YOU DO?We need your suggestions on possible ways in
which the payment of eligible charges in supported
accommodation can still take place given the
centralisation of housing benefit under Universal Credit.
The next 18 months will see the introduction of a raft of new caps and systems, as the Government pushes ahead with the biggest changes to welfare benefits in some 60 years. Kathleen Caper looks at four key issues and reviews the far-reaching impacts that each will have on your service and clients – and what you need to do about them.
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NO DIRECT PAYMENTS OF HOUSING COSTS TO LANDLORDSUnder Universal Credit, most working-age claimants will
no longer be able to choose to have the housing benefit
component of Universal Credit paid directly to their
landlord. It will be paid to them personally as part of their
monthly credit.
The DWP have accepted that there are some people for
whom direct payments to landlords should still be made.
This has led to a mechanism within Universal Credit that
can except people identified as ‘vulnerable’ from one or
all the aspects of the Universal Credit payment model. As
a result, they might be paid more frequently than once
per month, or have housing costs paid direct to their
landlord.
Our concern is that people will be left to slip into arrears
before anyone identifies them as vulnerable. Or that
clients will not be correctly assessed as vulnerable.
The consequences for individuals and services could be
devastating.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?We need your help to gather evidence to demonstrate
the impact this method of benefits payment will have on
you and your clients. How do your clients manage their
finances now? What issues do you have with arrears on
personal service charges under the current system? What
levels of personal debt do your clients have – from crisis
loans and previous arrears, to pay day loans and other
expensive credit?
2 IMPACTS ON INDIVIDUALSMONTHLY BENEFIT PAYMENTSThe Universal Credit system of a single monthly payment
to cover all benefits will present many clients with real
challenges.
The DWP says that no one will be permanently excepted
from the system. Some people will be excepted for an
extended period – perhaps twelve months or more -while
others will be ‘deferred’ over a shorter period to give
them time to build skills, and others will be supported -
potentially by third parties on behalf of the DWP - through
the transition to a single payment.
We are exploring the use of ‘housing type’ as a trigger
for an exception. We’d like to see those who receive this
exception getting at least a further six months deferral
after moving into independent accommodation – a
breathing space which, in those crucial first months of
independent living, might mean the difference between
keeping or losing a tenancy.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Again, we’re looking for evidence to present to the
DWP, so please feed back. In particular we’d like to
knowWhatat barriers to self-managing their finances do
IS YOUR ORGANISATION READY?
ARE YOUR STAFF READY?
• What contingency plans do you have in place
for changes to the exempt accommodation
rule and payment of eligible charges under
Universal Credit?
• How are you going to tell staff and clients about
the changes – and when?
• Can you provide evidence on behalf of current
or past clients for Shared Accommodation Rate
exemptions when needed?
• How will you help clients with budgeting when
Universal Credit is introduced?
• Do they understand the changes and can they
explain them to clients?
• Are they ready to help clients to access Local
Welfare Assistance instead of the Social Fund?
ARE YOU INFLUENCING?• Do you know what your local council is doing
about the Social Fund/Local Welfare Assistance
or Council Tax Benefit?
• Are you making the case for access to
localised support for your service and clients?
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clients experience?What budgeting support or training
has been effective for clients?
ABOLITION OF THE DISCRETIONARY SOCIAL FUNDFrom April 2013,the centrally administered Discretionary
Social Fund – Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants
– will be replaced by local authority administered Local
Welfare Assistance.
Local authorities will then have the job of delivering
support to vulnerable people in the way they deem most
appropriate to meet local needs. This might be in kind
support, such as food vouchers or furniture, rather than
cash.
Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants have been
vital sources of support for homeless people at key points
in their transition to living independently and keeping
tenancies.
If there is no access to cash in an emergency, there
is likely to be an increase in the use of pay day loans
and other expensive credit – potentially leading to rent
arrears, eviction and repeat homelessness.
There is no ring fence on this budget. Nor is there a
statutory duty to provide support. In practice, this may
turn the effectiveness of Local Welfare Assistance into a
local lottery for homeless people.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?Talk to your local authority now and ask what provision
they are making to deliver Local Welfare Assistance – and
in particular how they see its role in supporting homeless
people in the area. Offer your experience in designing
the scheme.
We are keen to hear what they tell you. We need help to
monitor people’s experiences of Local Welfare Assistance
– so please send us any case studies, both positive and
negative. We also welcome input directly from service
users.
Kathleen Caper is Senior Policy Officer at Homeless Link
homeless.org.uk/wr2012
TIMELINE FOR CHANGESUMMER 2012 Benefit cheques end – claimants who receive cheques
will be encouraged to use bank or post office accounts,
or given a reusable token to collect cash via PayPoint
outlets.
OCTOBER 2012Main regulations published for Universal Credit - the
practical details of the Act.
APRIL 2013• Local Welfare Assistance replaces the Discretionary
Social Fund, administered by local authorities.
• Total Benefit Cap comes into force - £500 per week
for families and £350 per week for single people with
no dependents, with some exceptions.
• Personal Independence Payment introduced as
Disability Living Allowance ends. Current working age
DLA claimants need to reapply and be reassessed.
• Under-occupancy penalties applied to social
housing. In practice this means a 14% cut to housing
benefit if 1 room is deemed to be spare, or 25% if
there are 2 or more spare rooms. The cut will be a
percentage of the eligible rent.
• Council Tax Benefit: overall budget cut by 10% and
LAs to administer
• Local Housing Allowance to be linked to Consumer
Price Index (CPI) and not by market rents in each
area
• Universal Credit Pathfinders launch in the North
East and North West, with a six month run to test the
system.
OCTOBER 2013Universal Credit rollout: the first phase will see some
new claimants, as well as existing claimants with major
changes in circumstances, moved to the new system.
Most people actively seeking work are expected to be on
Universal Credit by April 2014.
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and any potential solution. We need a co-ordinated
response across the country that breaks down these
barriers and ensures everyone takes responsibility, rather
than maintaining a system that seeks to move people
and costs around.
We should aim for seamless services that ensure a ‘no
wrong door’ approach to access. We need to focus on
prevention and on providing immediate solutions that
help people off the streets. Regardless of where they have
come from, or what their issues are, they are homeless
and we should be able to support them.
OLIVER HILBERY PROJECT DIRECTOR, MEAM COALITION
Ending homelessness is something you shouldn’t have to
do alone. Too often, services can end up feeling like they
DAVID CARTER CEO, THE WHITECHAPEL CENTRE, LIVERPOOL
We will never be able to end homelessness while we have
to struggle against the artificial barriers we know are in
operation in some authorities across the country. If we
are only able to support people assessed as having a
“priority need” or who have a “local connection” we will
continue to fail many others who need our urgent help.
We need to make it easier for people to access services
and get off the streets.
Persuading an entrenched rough sleeper to come
indoors is difficult at the best of times. Having to fight with
services or authorities to prove a local connection or a
vulnerability that defines a priority need not only delays
the process, but it can sabotage working relationships
That’s the question we put to 21 people from across the sector in June. The next 12 pages are filled with their responses - from services, local authorities, government and people who have lived it. We’re a diverse and passionate sector. We don’t agree on everything - but we have more in common than not.
We don’t just want you to read. We want you to share your vision too. Alongside the opinions, you’ll also find questions that we all need to think about. So please, join the debate - tell us your own priorities and ideas. Help shape the way we think about homelessness.
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are the only ones supporting those hardest to help. The
willingness to act is admirable but ultimately exhausting;
particularly when we know that sustainable solutions
require input from a range of agencies such as substance
misuse, mental health, criminal justice, housing and social
care.
The best cross-sector partnerships can create a shared
responsibility for people facing multiple needs and new
ways of working that are beneficial to all.
Of course, building such partnerships is never easy, but if
they are vital to ending homelessness, shouldn’t we all be
doing more?
Working better together across sectors is a ‘must-do’ not
a ‘nice–to-do’ for the future. Let’s start now.
PROFESSOR STEVE FIELD CHAIRMAN NHS FUTURE FORUM AND NATIONAL INCLUSION HEALTH BOARD
The NHS alone won’t end homelessness, but it will play
an essential role. The new health commissioning structure
shouldn’t just focus on diagnosing and treating the
medical conditions of homeless people. It must also
become a leader in creating coordinated services that
work for vulnerable groups.
We need to advocate on behalf of vulnerable people.
The Secretary of State has an obligation to make sure that
they remain a priority for the NHS and has supported the
important National Inclusion Health Board that is charged
with championing the needs of the most vulnerable,
including the homeless. At a more local level, Health and
Wellbeing boards will also have a key role challenging
commissioners to allow levels of service flexibility that
ensure no one is left out.
Time and time again, I hear about GPs turning homeless
people away, denying them access to essential care. But
the NHS belongs to everyone – that’s in its constitution. It
has a duty of care to every social group.
Health Education England has a big responsibility in this –
educating the health professionals of the future to make
sure they understand the needs of homeless patients
and the risks they face. I’m always pleased to hear about
positive work that is making a difference – but just as
importantly, I want to hear fewer stories of people being
let down.
The future depends on collaboration. We need
integrated health, social care, housing and third sector
initiatives, with a subgroup in every local Wellbeing board
representing the needs of the vulnerable groups in their
communities.
There are beacons of hope out there, but right now
they’re the exception - and they shouldn’t be. My role is
to challenge what we’re doing – to make sure we keep
aspiring to the best.
DAVID FORD CHAIR, HOMELESS LINK’S EXPERT ADVISORY PANEL
Having experienced homelessness, and since then
worked for and with local authorities, paid providers, faith
groups and service user groups within the sector, I really
feel that we could be at the start of an incredibly exciting
time.
At the moment we are going through a period of turmoil,
of change. It’s a time for evaluating and reorganising
ourselves as a sector. It is full of frustration and disruption.
Pressure on services increasing while funding is
decreasing.
But when I look at the resources that we have between
us – leadership from local authorities, technical skills and
ability from paid providers, time, space and good will
from the volunteer organisations and the experience of
service users – I believe that we can become better than
we have ever been at tackling homelessness.
If we work in partnership together and maximise the
resources that we have available, we can go a long
way to tackling homelessness. This does not mean we
have to lose our individuality as organisations. Far from it.
What it does mean is that we should share our resources,
collaborate on joint projects, work as one team and rise
to the challenges that we face.
How much better would it be if we shared our skills, time,
space, goodwill and experience amongst ourselves? How
much more efficient as a sector would we become?
This is a time of opportunity, not of despair, and through
collaboration we can overcome the old perceptions of
homeless and build a future full of hope.
CAROL HAMLETT DIRECTOR, TRANSFORMING CHOICE, LIVERPOOL
Ending homelessness isn’t just about finding
accommodation. We all know that. I’m not saying we
aren’t short of affordable and suitable homes. But it’s
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more complicated than that.
The number one priority for the voluntary sector should
be creating environments for individuals to begin to
strengthen their own foundations. This might sound
grand, but it’s actually very simple. It’s about having the
right people to implement a person centred approach.
Understanding and implementing it are two very different
things. Less is always more.
We can’t end homelessness without prevention. Through
research we know that schools and colleges should be
able to identify children and young people who may
need extra support – and this support must be provided
at the earliest opportunity. The same goes for adults
who become homeless, through family breakdown and
financial issues – again, that support has to be there for
them, at or before the point of crisis.
Ending homelessness will involve a lot of changes. Some
won’t be popular.
If an individual has reached a point where they are so
overwhelmed that the best they can do is get drunk all
day and sit in the street, then someone comes along
and starts feeding and clothing them so they are able to
spend all of their benefits on cider – what motivation do
they have to change? What do acts of charity like that
really say about a person’s worth. Who gains the most
from the act? The giver or the receiver?
I think to really end homelessness we have to look at how
we validate each other as human beings. We have to ask
the question: how can we really help?
EWA SADOWSKA CEO, BARKA UK, LONDON
Ending homelessness is achievable, but how quickly
we get there depends on an evolution of political and
administrative culture. We need to improve the training
of employees both within the sector and in related
disciplines.
We need to develop accessible housing projects created
by civil society organisations, and self-help projects for
excluded groups. We need to see social and vocational
reintegration centres for migrants and refugees –
embracing both European and non-European migrants.
Central government has an obligation to enable and
support local partnerships for social inclusion.
We need to break down current perceptions of homeless
people – both amongst the general public and across
TAKE A STEPTO ENDHOMELESSNESS
WE NEED YOUR HELPTO PUT THE VISIONINTO PRACTICEIt’s time to articulate our vision of an end to homelessness.It’s time to make sure that all our influencing, policy and practice work is relevant in the current environment, given the rise in homelessness and the funding cuts that you have had to manage.
Why?
We need to be ready for the next general election. We need to have answers ready for Government should the opportunity arise to think big.
And we don’t plan to do this alone. You’re the experts. You know the local situation. We need your views and ideas – whether you’re a frontline worker or a CEO or if you have experienced homelessness directly and had to rely on the services of our members.
The issues that matter
On the pages that follow, you’ll find questions that we believe are key to the future of the sector. You don’t have to answer them all - but we need to know what you think about the issues that matter to you.
JOIN THE DEBATE ONLINE...
www.endhomelessness.org.uk
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the sector. We need to abandon the perception that
homeless people do not want to change. And within
the sector we need to stop perceiving homeless people
as service users – but rather as citizens who have
experienced difficulties that could happen to anyone.
The relationships with homeless people shouldn’t be
about filling in forms, but about real interactions that lead
to real and long-term positive change.
The success of Barka’s work depends on peer to peer
support. We believe the role of people who have
experienced homelessness is crucial. By speaking
from experience and sharing the story of overcoming
homelessness and social exclusion, they can bring hope
and demonstrate that it is never too late to return from
the darkest parts of human existence.
GARY STANIFORTH CEO, THE HIDDEN HOMELESS LTD, BRADFORD
We can’t end homelessness without dropping priority
status. It’s a discriminatory, biased and blind approach
– a 30 year old ideal for a 30 year old problem, and too
many subsection fixes are just not working. Having been
on the receiving end of this legislation I know full well the
implications for someone in crisis who just needs help.
Scotland’s 2012 homelessness commitment, introduced
in 2003, places a duty on every council to provide every
homeless person with a settled home. This means that
by the end of this year, councils need to have abolished
the distinction between priority and non-priority need,
extending the same right to all unintentionally homeless
households. If Scotland can do it, why can’t we? Many of
us have been saying this for years.
What gives anyone the right to say one person deserves
to be looked after over and above another, when at the
point of crisis? No duty of care because you’re single?
That has absolutely nothing to do with the trauma of
finding you have nowhere to go and no one to turn to.
Empty properties in the hundreds of thousands, skilled
men and women without jobs, a youth unemployment
figure of over a million, a building trade waiting for
the market to grow. We need to train young people to
develop properties – offer the same training to homeless
people in hostels – professional training from building
tradesmen currently sitting about with nothing to do.
Take the broken, unused buildings and donate them to
schemes that will regenerate them.
Support homeless people to do this. Give them a sense
of ownership and pride in something they have earned
WHO?WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
To achieve our vision of an end to homelessness, we need
to have a shared understanding of who we are talking
about. Our focus in this paper is single homeless people
and couples without dependent children. This is because
as a group they have very limited statutory protection,
unlike families with children, and are often a low priority
for mainstream services.
Homelessness covers a wide range of individual
situations, from those in purely housing need through
to those with the most complex and multiple needs
facing chronic exclusion. Some groups of people are
more vulnerable to homelessness because they have
particular support needs or have fewer rights. There are
specific minority groups, who are more likely to be hidden
or have their needs over-looked – for instance: women;
young people; and those from Black and Minority Ethnic
communities.
Whatever a person’s needs we believe that no one
should ever be in a position where they are without
somewhere safe to live.
QUESTIONS...
How do you describe homelessness?
Who is homeless in your area?
Should we have a greater focus on the various minority groups within the homeless population? Who do you think there should there be a greater focus on?
What do you think of the Ethos approach described below?
ETHOS, a European Typology of Homelessness and
Housing Exclusion, classifies people who are homeless
according to their living or “home” situation. There are 4
main concepts:
• Rooflessness – without a shelter of any kind, sleeping
rough
• Houselessness – with a place to sleep but temporary
in institutions, hostels or shelters
• Insecure Housing – threatened with severe exclusion
due to insecure tenancies, eviction, domestic
violence
• Inadequate Housing – in caravans on illegal
campsites, in unfit housing, in extreme overcrowding.
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and worked for – then discount their rent for the hard work
they put in.
Come on Mr Cameron, I’m an old lag, and I could do a
better job with the housing crisis than you.
ANNE DOYLE HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY MANAGER, LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL
I definitely think ending homelessness and rough sleeping
in this country is an achievable aim which everyone in the
sector should be working towards.
Changing the legislation by abolishing the requirement
to be in priority need, as they have done in Scotland,
would be the most effective way of achieving this. In
addition to being able to radically increase the number
of people that local authorities have a duty to assist, this
would clearly demonstrate that homelessness and rough
sleeping are unacceptable in this country in this day and
age.
By also continuing the focus on prevention, relaxing the
local connection criteria and ensuring there are proper
solutions available for people with no recourse to public
funds, we would be able ensure that no one is in the
position where they are homeless and rough sleeping
with no route out of their situation.
LISA LEWIS CHIEF EXECUTIVE, DOORWAY, NORTH WILTSHIRE
Homelessness can never be solved until the public’s
perception of the issues surrounding homelessness is
directly challenged.
Charities need to be able to work in partnership with
statutory organisations in advocating on behalf of those
who are marginalised and have no voice in society.
However, in order to achieve this, the smaller local
projects which receive little or no statutory funding,
are entirely reliant on the financial generosity, and the
support, of their local communities.
Community engagement is harder in rural areas where
homelessness is far more hidden than in the bigger cities.
The public are not confronted with the stereotypical
image of rough sleepers bedding down and therefore
will be ignorant of there being a local problem in the first
place.
Additionally, the general public does not deem this topic
THE VISIONWHAT WILL AN END TO HOMELESSNESS LOOK LIKE?
Everyone needs an individual solution, but how do we
measure whether this is happening?
We may never stop everyone becoming homeless,
but we should have the right services in place so no
one remains homeless. There are people vulnerable to
homelessness, people at different stages of homelessness
and people who are have recently left homelessness
behind who are vulnerable to becoming homeless again.
Any measures of an end to homelessness need to reflect
these different stages.
QUESTIONS...
If you were telling a friend what a country without homelessness would look like, how would you describe it?
At what point does someone stop being homeless? Is it after 6 or 12 months or is about someone’s attitude?
How should we measure an end to homelessness? Should it be based on outcomes or hard figures?
What evidence would we need to demonstrate an end to homelessness? Are we collecting it already?
Should we approach homelessness as a rights issue?
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to be an attractive one. The complex needs surrounding
homelessness are still society’s greatest taboos; it is not
considered good practice to talk about substance
dependencies or mental health problems. People don’t
want to hear that homelessness could happen to anyone;
they don’t want to have to consider what might happen
to them if they suddenly found themselves at risk of losing
their home. It’s far too easy to remain in a small, safe and
secure bubble rather than have to consider the darker
aspects of the real world on their doorstep.
However, by educating our local communities we
can reduce the fear and prejudice, the hostility and
aggression against the homeless and the marginalised.
But most importantly we can challenge and overturn the
public’s perception, thereby recruiting them in the fight to
end homelessness.
MILKA KIMANI TALENT CHAMPION & TRUSTEE, THE FOYER FEDERATION, LONDON
Homelessness in London has become increasingly
worrying in recent years and with the recession having left
a damaging impact to many in the capital, it is now even
more vital to look at solutions that are sustainable and
can be used to end homelessness.
In order to find long lasting solutions it could be useful to
look at best practice strategies used in neighbouring EU
countries, for example where the issue of homelessness
is less apparent as a result of targeting the cause, such
as the provision of temporary accommodation, and
expecting these ‘four walls’ to be the solution.
Causes may include debt, addiction, employment
etc. which if not targeted may result in the issue of
homelessness resurfacing, creating a cycle rather than a
sustainable solution to the problem.
JANE SLOWEY CHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE FOYER FEDERATION, LONDON
Youth homelessness is rising. Cuts in public funding are
putting huge pressures on services. Around 1 in 5 young
people growing up in Britain today will struggle to realise
their potential as active and engaged young citizens.
We are failing these young people. We lump them
together as ‘disadvantaged’, ‘disconnected’ and
‘disaffected’. Services pick them up when they are in crisis
and then move them on as quickly as possible - as soon
as they can ‘cope’ with their disadvantage.
PREVENTIONHOW CAN YOU PREVENT PEOPLE BECOMING HOMELESS?
Homelessness is all too preventable and often happens
after a chain of other events. As recent rough sleeping
and statutory homeless figures show new people are still
becoming homeless for the first time every day. Wider
changes such as welfare reform have the potential to
increase homelessness.
Homelessness often happens because other services
have not given the right support to people at the right
time, or people have not known where to go. Individuals
arriving in homeless services with multiple needs could
have had these needs met at different points, in housing
options, by mental health, in the criminal justice system,
whilst in hospital. Some suggest that we as a sector
are mainly here to deal with the crisis not to prevent it
happening. If we are to end homelessness, we need learn
from who has become homelessness or who is rough
sleeping to prevent others taking the same path.
QUESTIONS...
Do you believe that you have a role in preventing homelessness? If yes, what is it that you do?
How do we make homelessness every agency’s business?
How early should specific “homelessness prevention” work start? Should we focus on “acute” intervention or should we be pushing agencies working with children to recognise their role? If we do this how would you measure it?
Support during transition from prison, care, hospital is important – how do you ensure maintenance and consistency of support at key transition points?
How can we identify as early as possible those at risk of tenancy breakdown?
Can you tell us about a good service locally that you believe is contributing towards preventing homelessness?
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We label them by what they are not (“NEET”), by the
‘problems’ they have (“teenage parents”), the perceived
risks they pose (“care leavers”) or what they have done in
the past (“young offenders”). We then construct services
to tackle these ‘deficits’.
Too many services, however well intentioned, end up
seeing the young people they work with as victims or
recipients of charity. This is in stark contrast to the way
in which we invest in the talent and aspirations of those
young people who make their journey to adulthood
through higher education.
There is a huge social injustice here. We need to turn the
current ‘support’ model on its head and begin to invest
in the talents and aspirations of ALL our young people.
Housing is a key ingredient in the transition to adulthood –
but it’s not the whole recipe.
Until we understand that, we’ll never end youth
homelessness.
GILL BROWN CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BRIGHTER FUTURES, STOKE ON TRENT
I know that David Cameron has houses in Downing Street,
Chequers and Chipping Norton – oh, and has he another
in London? Despite this excess, I am sure that even he
understands the importance of a home to every one of
us.
A home gives us warmth, shelter and privacy. It
contributes to our sense of stability, of belonging, of
identity. It is a fundamental part of being human.
It is therefore a truly cruel irony that we have turned
homes from being essential person makers into crude
investments. Unlike our European neighbours, Britain
has totemised home ownership and accorded it huge
financial rewards. In order to give houses this value,
successive governments have kept house building down.
Homelessness is not inevitable; it’s the result of failing to
build enough homes. This truth is disguised by political
debate that concentrates on rationing rather than
building. The latest pronouncements typify this; no social
housing for the well paid, no housing benefit for the under
25s, no houses for rioters. It’s a distraction.
Ken Loach’s Cathy Come Home was an effective wake
up call to a society that was failing to meet the basic
human need of providing its members with somewhere to
live. Housing Associations must publicise the suffering that
we see in order to provide voters and politicians with the
ACHIEVING AN ENDWHAT NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE TO ACHIEVE AN END TO HOMELESSNESS?
Homelessness is not just about housing. Most homeless
people have other support needs as well.
It is also about the right support being available and an
individual’s needs being addressed in an integrated and
comprehensive manner. We have been working on a
range of issues that need to be addressed – but given
the economic, social and political changes that have
happened recently, we want to understand if the needs
of people have changed.
What are the biggest priorities facing you at the moment
when giving support?
• Criminal justice
• Welfare support including Universal Credit, Housing
Benefit
• Education and employment
• Health
• Migration
• Housing
• Multiple needs
• Housing options and advice
• Family support, mediation, bereavement = something
around relationships
• Domestic abuse
QUESTIONS...
Are any topics missing from this list? If yes, what are they?
What are the three issues that would be make the greatest difference to ending homelessness? And what would be the solutions that you would like to see?
Do you have any other comments you would like to make on any of the other points?
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real story about housing and homelessness.
If we believe that an affordable home could be available
for all, our mantra must be: build more homes.
AMANDA CROOME MANAGER, BOOTH CENTRE, MANCHESTER
Ending homelessness has to remain our aim, but in
the current climate of welfare reform, cuts in services,
economic problems and more and more people walking
through the doors of day centres (and other services) in
desperate situations, it feels almost impossible.
But what is important is that we don’t lower the standards
of our services or the expectations of what individual
homeless people can achieve, otherwise we are going
to lose much of what has been improved in the sector
over the last few years. So, for example, we need to
keep aiming to run the highest quality arts programmes,
provide the most effective support to help people get
jobs and expand advice provision to meet the increasing
demand and ensure we don’t return to the soup kitchen
and night shelter culture of the last century as a way of
coping with the increasing numbers of homeless people.
We mustn’t just provide a sticking plaster when we have
a solution and we just need to keep finding creative ways
of making it happen.
JACK DROMEY MP SHADOW HOUSING MINISTER
With over a million young people out of work and with
the country in a double-dip recession made in Downing
Street, mums and dads all over Britain worry about a lost
generation of young people.
I am writing this just days after they were presented with
the Prime Minister’s plan to help them - remove housing
benefit for the under 25’s.
Housing benefit is an in-work benefit. Many of those on
housing benefit work hard and play by the rules just as
those living at home with their parents do. After all, in-
work households accounted for almost all (93%) of the
increase in the number of claimants during 2010 and 2011.
There are also thousands of vulnerable young people
who receive housing benefit. There are those who moved
to escape abusive relationships or severely overcrowded
parental homes, those whose parents are deceased or
refuse to accommodate them and there are those whose
own lives have broken down and need help and support
to re-build them.
NO RETURNHOW DO YOU SUPPORT PEOPLE TO SUSTAIN A LIFE AWAY FROM HOMELESSNSS AND STOP THEM RETURNING?
Critical to ending homelessness is ensuring that people
sustain lives away from homelessness and don’t end up
back on the streets or back at the local authority through
a lack of support.
Loneliness and isolation are important contributing factors
to an individual being unable to sustain tenancies and
dropping back into homelessness. Befriending schemes
and services that take over from the support offered by
the homeless sector help to integrate people into the
mainstream community. Having respite care in place can
avoid the jeopardy of people walking away from their
accommodation, losing it all and having to start all over
again.
QUESTIONS...
What support should be available for people to ensure that they sustain a life away from homelessness? How long should it be available for?
Are there unintended consequences of the services we offer? For example rewarded behaviour, sustaining people as homeless?
Is it the role of the homelessness sector to provide this or should other agencies take responsibility? If homeless agencies are to provide this, what needs to change to make it happen?
How do you ensure there is support in place for people, including respite care, when they get into difficulty?
Do you have any examples of practice which have helped people sustain their tenancies?
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They are helped by outstanding projects such as the
YMCA Orchard in my own constituency of Erdington,
which has rebuilt the lives of hundreds of young homeless
people, helping them into work or training. But under
these plans it would face closure.
The YMCA England Chief Executive, Ian Green, has
described these proposals as “absurd” and suggested
that they show “a real lack of understanding of the
potential long term consequences of such a policy”.
The truth is, removing housing benefit for all under
25’s would punish those in low-paid work or on an
apprenticeship denying them the ability to keep a roof
over their heads and it would remove the safety net from
those who lose their job and need help and support to
get them back into work. But it wouldn’t end there, it
would also present serious problems for vulnerable young
people and send youth homelessness soaring.
Instead of punishing those who are trying to get on and
make a start in life, the Government should be focussing
on building more affordable homes, creating thousands
of jobs and apprenticeships for our young people and
driving down homelessness.
UNA BARRY DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE, DEPAUL UK, LONDON
The call to end homelessness has its place. However, I
think this is unlikely in the current climate. Homelessness
is on the increase. The latest DCLG figures show rising
demand. Depaul UK Nightstops across the country have
seen demand from individual young people treble in
the last three years. Demand at our York nightstop has
doubled in the last year alone.
The benefit cuts will put more pressure on family
relationships, the biggest cause of youth homelessness.
Of course we are in a difficult climate and we have all
looked at ways of being more cost effective as have
local authorities. But let’s not kid ourselves that we can
end something like homelessness by thinking it! We need
to continue the successful partnership that has worked
between government and the voluntary sector over
the past 20 years, to get young homeless people from
emergency housing to longer term accommodation and
employment.
The health service’s crucial role in improving the
outcomes of young homeless people has to be fully
realised to prevent 16 and 17 year olds becoming
homeless. The housing sector needs to retain, not
FUNDINGHOW SHOULD SUPPORT FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE BE FUNDED?
Until 2003 there was no consistent funding stream for
support for homeless people. Between 2003-2009, there
was a consistent named, ring-fenced funding stream.
During this time, the sector grew, improved practice
and, in many areas, had a clear champion in the local
authority.
2009 saw the ring-fence for this funding removed, and
there is now no requirement to fund support for homeless
people locally. As the pressure of cuts has been felt
by Local Authorities and the need to meet statutory
requirements, there has been a slow erosion of funding
towards homeless people in many areas.
The approach has varied widely from area to area,
but it is clear that there should be no localism without
safeguards in place for homeless people.
Currently, all support for homeless people is through
agencies rather than direct budgets. This can remove
any element of choice and control for the individual and
leaves them dependent on the provision commissioned
locally.
QUESTIONS...
How do we ensure that support for homeless people is funded locally?
How should funding for homeless people be allocated?
Is it right to separate out housing, housing management charges and support costs?
Is payment by results a realistic option for our client group? What are the challenges?
Are hostels a financially viable model? What could replace them?
Is Housing First a better model, with housing provided alongside intensive support? Would the Housing First model work better for some individuals who can’t conform to the restrictions of hostels? What about individuals who don’t fulfil entry criteria to hostels?
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abandon, its focus on homelessness.
Much more needs to be done to prevent homelessness
happening in the first place, starting with young people in
schools and within families, and those with mental health
problems and substance problems. All local authorities
should all have the option of at least a Nightstop facility.
End Homelessness? Not yet, but we must prevent it
getting worse!
ALISON GELDER DIRECTOR, HOUSING JUSTICE, LONDON
I think ending homelessness is not a goal that can be
achieved by the homelessness sector, by government
(local or national), by homeless people themselves - or
even by faith communities (though that won’t stop me
encouraging churches to pray about it). However, neither
do I think it is an impossible aim. I honestly desire to be
in the position where the work of Housing Justice is no
longer needed and we can wind up and put our energies
(and our donors’ money) to use elsewhere.
The more I learn about the causes of homelessness the
more it is clear to me that this is a whole community
issue and not just the concern of those immediately
affected by it. So my number one priority is to convince
everyone outside the sector, everyone who has never
been homeless or at risk of homelessness themselves, that
homelessness is their problem too. We need to change
the climate of opinion.
Then, building on this, I would make prevention
and support (in the widest, most personal and most
imaginative of senses) the golden thread through all our
work. Collectively we are getting better and better at
the sticking plaster/picking up the pieces work. Now we
need to turn our attention to stopping people becoming
homeless in the first place – or second or fifty first place, in
the case of those caught in the revolving door.
JOHN HAMBLIN CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SHEKINAH, DEVON
Arriving at the midway point of 2012, it is interesting to
reflect on the ambition of ending homelessness.
I remember clearly being at the Homeless Link event
when the concept of ending rough sleeping by 2012 was
announced. What amazed me most was that, with some
of the providers, it went down like a lead balloon. For
some, the primary concern seemed more about retaining
empires, rather than seeing an end to the unacceptable
AND FINALLY...WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE CONSIDER?
Have we missed anything?
What else do you think we should think about?
What else is on your mind as you seek to ensure homeless people continue to receive the support they need?
TAKE A STEPTO ENDHOMELESSNESS
WE NEED YOUR HELPTO PUT THE VISIONINTO PRACTICE
It’s time to articulate our vision of an end to homelessness.
JOIN THE DEBATE ONLINE...
www.endhomelessness.org.uk
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CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46 VISION
independence and a critical distance. The ultimate
effectiveness of a charity is sometimes compromised
more by winning statutory funding than by losing it. Our
voice should never be bought by any funder.
We can’t ignore the underlying causes of homelessness
such as family breakdown, economic inequality and a
shortage of available housing. As Desmond Tutu said ‘We
shouldn’t just be pulling people out of the river. We should
be going upstream to find out who’s pushing them in.’
MARK BRENNAN PROJECT COORDINATOR, CARIS ISLINGTON CHURCHES COLD WEATHER SHELTER
Homelessness is a ubiquitous and apparently
unquenchable dilemma. Bold pronouncements have
been made to put an end to rough-sleeping and
‘eradicate’ homelessness. While these may be worthwhile
declarations to make as clarion call to rally people
and resources around alleviating undoubted suffering,
homelessness is not something that can be eradicated.
It simply is, just as ‘home’ is. Home does not exist without
homelessness and vice versa, so we need to embrace it
and understand it – all of us.
And that makes homelessness everyone’s responsibility.
We have a London-centric multi-million pound
homelessness industry in this country that is learning and
developing and evolving. It is an evolution I am very
optimistic about as I witness and participate – and the
rapidly growing church shelter network is playing a critical
role in this across the UK.
A vision for the UK-wide church shelter network is to bring
an end to the migration of homeless people into the
centre of London. The network is proving to be a catalyst
for effective cross-sector working where everyone can
take responsibility for homelessness and support homeless
people in their communities, where they stand a better
chance of overcoming it, becoming stronger, and more
independent.
PAUL ANDERS EMPLOYMENT MANAGER, HOMELESS LINK
The game has moved on – we have to move with it.
Many years ago, when the principles of client
involvement were being adopted, a common question
was: “Is this the bit where we do client involvement?” You
don’t hear that any more. User involvement is embedded
sight of sections of our community residing on the streets.
Whatever your views, in civilised society, the ambition of
ending rough sleeping and homelessness should morally
be an aspiration for us all.
That said, and without wanting to sound like a stuck
gramophone record, I still believe the sector has to
seriously address the issue of inappropriate labelling of
clients. It might be useful for funding bids and PR, but
does little to challenge public perception. It is also vital
that greater investment is made towards prevention
- diverting people before they need homelessness
services. We all know who tomorrow’s clients are going to
be, so why do we still wait to get them into services before
we start to engage with them?
As we move forward, we should not be shuffling the paper
clips trying to redefine concepts of ending homelessness
to be more acceptable to the Sector we work in.
Homelessness is devastating for individuals. It’s bad for
society. If we can’t accept those facts, we’re working in
the wrong sector.
JON KUHRT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WORK, WEST LONDON MISSION
Homelessness in the UK is a pan-European issue. When
you allow the free movement of labour, you cannot avoid
the free movement of poverty and on London’s streets
we are increasingly seeing the painful reality of EEA
poverty and inequality. In addition, of course there are
the contemporary domestic issues of benefit reductions,
funding cuts, growing unemployment and family
breakdown. This cocktail produces street homelessness.
With the increasing flow of new rough sleepers, the
No.1 priority in homelessness work is preventing these
people from becoming entrenched on the streets.
Responsive and assertive outreach and rigorous
unbiased assessment of need are fundamental and well
as effective reconnection services and other realistic
pathways make the difference.
Homelessness charities should have a healthy scepticism
about top-down initiatives, which promise ‘to solve the
issue’ but are driven by media headlines and statistical
gymnastics. There is no substitute for high quality,
committed practice. What happens on the pavement is
more important than what is said on the platform.
We need to remember the political backdrop to
our work. We should not be used to paper over the
cracks in society. We should work closely with the local
and regional government but we need to maintain
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in everything we do, from engagement to move-on –
even in policy direction, which now emphasises choice
and personalisation.
We need to start thinking about employability and skills
in the same way. The Government takes the view that
progression towards employment should be integral to
support, not merely a desirable end point. This is backed
up by CESI’s ‘Evaluation of the Single Homeless Enterprise
Project’ for St Mungo’s, which found that employment
support can help people manage the symptoms of things
like mental health problems or addiction.
Changes to benefits and employment support have
introduced another reason we can’t ignore employment:
agencies that don’t support their clients towards
employability could be actively harming them. The threat
of sanctions and mandatory participation in long-term
initiatives such as the Community Action Programme is
real and potentially damaging.
Like anyone in the sector, I’ve seen the impact of cuts
on services, and know that employment prospects
have been damaged in the current climate. This means
that we have to redouble our efforts to support clients
in this way – with government increasingly focussed on
sustained employment, agencies who don’t do this will
be putting themselves and their service users at risk.
RICHARD HOLMES OPERATIONS MANAGER, CREWE YMCA
We need a new language and approach to tackling
youth homelessness. Most of the issues young people
faces are wider and more complex than their need for
supported accommodation.
In my own organisation this approach is effective but still
work in progress.
We want to be involved in the lives of young people not
just by meeting their housing needs, or signposting them
to other services – but by exploring with them their hidden
and untapped skills and gifts.
This investment-based approach goes further than
traditional support planning can. It recognises that
people are unique and have individual assets. Meeting
need and solving problems are not the critical drivers to
working with young people.
This means developing different activities where young
people can test and explore their skills in a creative
environment. An example for us is our off-site Football
and Life Academy. Whereas previously we simply
played football, now we use it as a platform for wider
engagement to deliver life-skills and to discover and
invest in the hidden strengths that emerge out of a wide,
engaging context.
But the challenges to this approach are considerable.
While homelessness increases and budgets shrink, we are
trying to change staff culture, find funding for activities,
test new approaches and ideas – and find the critical
interface with partners who will invest with us.
For us, the challenge of doing things differently is worth it.
More importantly, it is what young people deserve.
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A CURE FOR HEALTHWhen the Department of Health commissioned us to
carry out research and come up with recommendations
towards better support for homeless people in hospital,
it was a perfect opportunity to set tougher expectations
- not just of the NHS, but of all agencies that need to
be involved when a homeless person enters and leaves
hospital.
The research, published in May - and completed
with the input of St Mungo’s and their excellent peer
researchers - found that most homeless people who end
up in hospital are discharged without making sure they
have accommodation to go to. They are sometimes
discharged straight on to the street, often without their
underlying health problems being addressed and with no
discharge plan. Contact with a GP to ensure follow up
care regularly doesn’t happen, and hospital staff rarely
check with a patient’s hostel that they can safely return,
or even whether they have one to go to.
Some people who took part in our research described
the mistrust and prejudice encountered in some hospitals
- from one person being referred to by nurses as ‘a tramp’
to another being turned away by security guards when
he was coughing up blood.
However, there are some excellent examples of good
practice, such as University College Hospital in London
and Arrowe Park on the Wirral, where staff have initiated
link worker schemes or joint protocols, and made huge
improvements to the care that patients receive. But
overall the picture is bleak. In our report we outlined a
number of measures that the NHS, local authorities and
our sector should take to reverse the situation.
SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?At the launch of the report in May, Care Services Minister
Paul Burstow said he was “challenging the rest of the NHS to learn from the best and make it [good practice] the norm”. We feel positive that the full backing of
government and the Department of Health will provide
the impetus needed for change. The Department’s
Inclusion Health Board has already been tasked with
taking forward some of the report’s recommendations –
and we believe some of the new NHS structures should
play a key role to ensure the issue remains a priority.
But while the NHS has much to learn, there’s a challenge
for our own sector, and a reminder of the importance
of joining up efforts and resources at a time when
everybody is under increasing pressure.
We are going to keep campaigning on this. The good
practice that we’re seeing could and should be adopted
universally. My hope is that, in a few years, we won’t still
be asking for the same thing.
Download the full report - Improving hospital admission and discharge for people who are homeless: bit.ly/connect46-hospital
Helen Mathie is Homeless Link’s Policy Manager
Poor hospital admission and discharge has been a problem for homeless people for too long. Some hospitals are getting it right, says Helen Mathie, but what will it take for the rest to follow?
INFLUENCE LOCAL HEALTHWhat is the best way to make sure local health services take your clients’ needs into account?
MAKE CONTACT with the key players in your Health and
Wellbeing Boards and Clinical Commissioning Groups.
What are their priorities and how does homelessness fit
into their agenda?
IDENTIFY LOCAL CHANNELS for voluntary sector groups
to feed into commissioning. These might include local
HealthWatch meetings, housing subgroups of your Health
and Wellbeing Boards, and your local JSNA.
SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE with commissioners. They need
good evidence like operational data and effective
practice case studies - and you can support your clients
to share their experiences.
For more information, read our Health Influencing guide:
bit.ly/connect46-ih
COMMENTCONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
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For six months from August 2011 a new, person-centred
approach to working with homeless clients was piloted
in Two Saints’ West Berkshire services at a 55-bed direct
access hostel, a 16-bed move-on service and the
Floating Support service.
We trained staff across the three services to deliver
support based on Person Centred Assessment and
Support Planning (PCASP), an approach in which the
client develops their own support plan, determined by
‘what is important to them’ (aspirations, maintenance,
etc.) and ‘what is important for them’ (safety, wellbeing,
etc.).
CLIENTS IN THE DRIVING SEATIt is essential that clients are central to the creation,
and delivery, of Assessments and Support Plans. These
processes are driven by the client, for the client. The staff
role is one of support and option appraisal - enabling
client choice that will lead to empowering, efficient and
cost effective outcomes. The more clients design and
own their support plans, the more they will drive and own
the outcomes.
WHAT WE DIDThere are four key elements in our approach to
personalisation.
Person Centred Assessment and Support Planning (PCASP): Clients come to us at a point of crisis in their
life. Our assessment process recognises they may need
a short period (typically up to 48 hours) to consider their
priorities once they have the security of acceptance and
a chance to recuperate. For this reason, we separate
the basic Admission Assessment – covering eligibility,
immediate needs and risk assessment – from the more
thorough PCASP.
The comprehensive Person Centred Support Planning
assessment is completed at a pace, place and time that
suits the client – invariably within two weeks of entry.
The Outcomes Star is central to this process – based on a
set of open but structured questions, enabling clients to
identify where they are and where they would like to be
in all aspects of their life. It looks at money management,
emotional and mental health, and the meaningful use
of time. By reviewing their current resources and social
capital, the process builds on clients’ strengths rather
than focusing on deficits.
We then support the client to identify actions that will
move them towards their goals, the skills and resources
available to them – including friends, family and other
agencies – and the options that exist to help them
progress. The client chooses from the available options
and achievable, measurable tasks are agreed.
Core Support and Keywork: Keywork focuses on helping
people through their support plan. Progress against set
tasks is reviewed and new tasks are agreed. A weekly
hour-long keywork session is most common – although
this can be adapted to suit each client’s needs. Some
clients need 15 minutes almost daily – while in other cases
longer, less frequent keywork is seen as appropriate.
Skilled and Flexible Support: High skill base and
flexibility is an essential part of personalised work with
homeless clients. For us, this included creating two new
roles – Assessment Broker and Flexible Support Worker.
These roles had no set hours, but instead offered flexible
support where genuine reasons, as identified in a clients’
support plan, emerged.
Staff providing this support have to reach an assessed
standard of competence before being authorised to
Jon Bramley of Two Saints reports on their recent personalisation pilot – looking at why what it has taught them will be used to evolve other Two Saints services.
BETTER ENGAGEMENTBETTER OUTCOMES
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carry out PCASP assessments. The first interactions with a
client are crucial to building trust and rapport, so getting
your best staff in front of a client at an early stage is
essential.
Free Resource: We allocated a specific fund, called Free
Resource, available over the six months of the pilot.
This was used to support clients with needs identified in
the support plan, where no other source of funding was
available. Examples include paying for college course
equipment, visits to family members, clothing, driving
lessons to support return to work, and art therapy sessions.
Interestingly, of the original £20,000, less than £3,000
was taken up. Support workers commented that the
possibility of Free Resource enabled clients to start
exploring in depth what was important to and for them.
In turn, this helped them reach an understanding about
the resources they already possess to help them achieve
what they need.
WHAT DID WE LEARN?Personalisation works! The clients tell us so, staff tell us so,
and so do the figures. A review of life areas covered by
the Outcomes Star demonstrated that clients themselves
felt happier and more in control.
The pilot was also cost effective. Beyond the allocation of
Free Resource the costs were minimal - with staff hours not
increased but refocussed.
WHERE NEXT?A major success from this approach was the greatly
increased engagement, particularly from some of our
hardest to reach clients. Clients who never previously felt
able to fully engage are now taking an active role and
progressing their own support plans.
The ultimate benefit of the pilot was not that clients were
achieving different outcomes than before, but that many
more outcomes were achieved overall – including hard
Supporting People outcomes – and by a greater number
and wider range of clients.
We are now rolling out the approach gradually across all
our suitable services.
Jon Bramley is Projects Officer at Two Saints www.twosaints.org.uk
ONE CLIENT’S JOURNEYCatherine was a successful business manager, a mother
and a wife. She suffered post natal depression after which
her alcohol use spiraled out of control. Her relationship
broke down, her drinking reached a critical level and her
home was repossessed.
At Two Saints, Catherine set up her own tailored person
centred plan based on her strengths, priorities and needs.
She was able to access the appropriate support and
resources to help her move forward. By using motivational
interviewing, the team enabled Catherine to identify with
herself that her drinking was the main barrier to her goals
– and to build determination.
Catherine needed a lot of support at first to avoid
eviction due to chaotic lifestyle choices, but now she’s
able to look back on that time. She says: ‘with a lot of
determination and will on my part I am now sober and
am heavily involved with many aspects of hostel life, and
am due be moved out into my own rented property very
shortly.’
Catherine continues to volunteer within the service. She
is the chair of our Joint Asset Management group and
recently won the West Berkshire Volunteer of the year
award.
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RECIPE FOR A PERFECT NSNOA lot has happened since we first started asking what No
Second Night Out should mean in London. We consulted
with a wide range of frontline outreach workers, staff
in accommodation and day centre projects, local
authorities and others in order to support the set-up of the
first NSNO hub.
We heard how important it is to have lots of creative
solutions to meet the needs of a diverse population
of new rough sleepers – and that those solutions must
include access to mental health assessment, and advice
around immigration and international reconnection.
More than a year after launch of No Second Night Out
in London – and subsequent commitments to adopt the
NSNO standard from around the country – we are seeing
a wide variety of practical ways that the approach can
be implemented.
INGREDIENTSThe government strategy: Vision for ending rough
sleeping: No Second Night Out nationwide recognises
that there should be different approaches, but with
a few clear common requirements. These include
mechanisms for identifying new rough sleepers;
having an immediate response; mobilising the public;
having a safe place where needs can be assessed;
emergency accommodation; and agencies working on
reconnection processes to help people connect with the
area where they will most likely be able to move away
from rough sleeping.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONSOver the last year Homeless Link has been supporting
and connecting up areas that are adopting the No
Second Night Out standard. We’ve brought people
together to plan and to learn, we’ve supported agencies
with funding through the Homeless Transition Fund and
trained individuals and teams.
There have been many diverse solutions, but there’s a
range of common principles that work.
Firstly, the areas that have been most successful have
taken steps to really define the issues they are seeking
to address by analysing existing data or carrying out
an audit. For example Harrogate Homeless Project has
carried out an audit with all frontline services to monitor
who is rough sleeping in order to determine what the
service needs to look like.
It takes creativity to develop person-centred solutions
and responses quickly. Successful projects are well aware
of the limitations in services and funding in a time of cuts
and shortages – so they become experts at making the
best use of existing resources and finding new ones.
It is important that projects have the capacity to
advocate for people and build the right offer. The London
pilot has dynamic Reconnection and Assessment Workers
who can spend time negotiating with Housing Options
Services, landlords or other support agencies to really
ensure that an individual’s needs are met.
Local areas find solutions when they are working
together to have a shared approach, with excellent
communication and focus on the people who need
support. For example, there are a number of areas that
have ‘Task and Targetting’ Groups that meet regularly to
case manage the most vulnerable people in the area.
Political buy-in is crucial to the success of No Second
Since early 2011, our Innovation and Good Practice team has given a lot of thought to what it takes to implement No Second Night Out (NSNO) locally and what a ‘perfect’ NSNO approach could look like. Lisa Reed explains.
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Night Out. The Liverpool City Region was the first area
outside London to officially sign up to the No Second
Night Out standard. They have adapted the approach to
meet their local needs, while maintaining the core belief
that no one should spend more than a single night on the
streets. Thanks to buy in from all the local councillors, the
Liverpool Region now has a local helpline for the public
to call when they see a rough sleeper, and offers a single
point of access to housing and health services.
A partnership approach is vital to the success of No
Second Night Out projects. As well as involving people
working in non-homelessness roles (police, street cleaners
etc) and the general public to alert NSNO projects about
new rough sleepers, partnership within the homelessness
sector is essential. Day centres (and other services such
as night shelters, soup kitchens and faith groups) play
an integral role. In some English regions day centres
are hosting an assessment hub or taking the lead in
coordinating and implementing a No Second Night Out
project.
DO NOT LEAVE TO STANDBut the key characteristic of the perfect NSNO approach
is that it doesn’t believe it is perfect at all. It is prepared
to gather information and feedback and to constantly
change in response to this – a cycle of continuous
learning and improvement.
Lisa Reed is Homeless Link’s Head of Innovation and Good Practice. homeless.org.uk/ea-nsno
THE ESSENTIAL SIDE DISHDay centres can be a key partner in delivering the ‘perfect’ NSNO approach – Good Practice Offer Tasmin Maitland explains how this can work.
Day centres support early intervention by identifying
who is a new rough sleeper and giving them information
about the No Second Night Out service. This might mean
restricting access to some or all of the service so that
new arrivals are directed to the most appropriate rapid
response and support. This also helps day centres to
avoid duplication and to target their resources at those
who cannot get support from No Second Night Out.
Day centres will need to provide clear, realistic
communication about which housing and support
options are available to rough sleepers, as well as about
the risks of sleeping rough. At times, rough sleepers
engage with a No Second Night Out project but refuse
the support offered. Day centres can support the single
service offer by providing time and space for the person
to reflect and reconsider, being frank about the options
and resources available. This reduces the risk of people
sleeping rough in the unrealistic hope of being given a
different or better option, which is often exacerbated by
misinformation from others on the streets.
Regular communication between No Second Night Out
projects and other homelessness services ensures that
new rough sleepers aren’t falling through the gaps. In
some cases, an interim solution is needed to achieve No
Second Night Out (for example, waiting for a passport
prior to reconnection) and partnership with a night shelter
or spare room scheme is the best short term option. For
rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds whose
situation is unlikely to change and for whom reconnection
is not possible, joint working with faith groups might be the
best way to find a specialist housing solution.
homeless.org.uk/ea-nsno-daycentres
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Since the Homelessness Transition Fund was launched last
July, £8m has been distributed through 41 grants across
England, with another round of funding decisions to be
announced before the Olympics. It seems to good time
to review how we are doing. How are we getting the
money to where it’s needed? What have we learnt so far?
BEGINNINGSThe Fund was conceived in a climate of cuts to frontline
services and increasing pressures on the people
most who need them. It was launched as part of the
Government’s rough sleeping strategy ‘Vision to end
rough sleeping: No Second Night Out Nationwide’ to help
ensure that progress towards ending homelessness is not
lost. It aimed to help protect critical services, and to help
organisations which had become dependent on public
funds to find new approaches to delivering services.
The Fund wasn’t the first ‘transition fund’ – there have
been other government funds aimed at helping voluntary
organisations cope with cuts and move to other funding
or commissioning models. Most notable was the £100
million scheme announced by Chancellor George
Osborne and launched by the Big Lottery in 2010. While
many organisations benefitted, surprisingly few from the
homelessness sector applied, or received funds from the
Lottery scheme. We looked to see what we could learn
from the Lottery, as well as other grant-makers tackling
homelessness.
ROUND 1When the Fund opened for business last summer, we
were inundated with requests for funding – almost 200
applications asking for £35 million, with only £8 million
available for grants. Clearly there was a need – and
predictably, there were some difficult decisions to be
made. Many of the applications were from organisations
desperate to keep services open, most couldn’t meet
the need for existing services – and many had cut staffing
back to the bone.
By assessing each bid over a very intensive few weeks,
valuable insights were gained about the challenges
facing frontline agencies and the support needs of the
sector. Some of these lessons have helped Homeless
Link’s Good Practice team shape the guidance and
training it provides across the sector.
Like the Lottery scheme, the Fund is open to any
voluntary organisation which meets the basic eligibility
criteria. Unlike the Lottery scheme, we decided against
applying a financial formula which directly assessed
applications against the amount of Local Authority cuts.
We focussed first on the objectives of the Fund – asking
applicants to explain the transition they wanted to make
and innovations to end rough sleeping they wanted to
implement. Knowing that our sector is best placed to
understand the individual pathways and needs of clients,
we asked applicants to tell us about the picture of rough
sleeping in their area. We asked them to make the case
for need in their own words.
Crucially, distributing the Fund through Homeless Link
allowed grants to be made closer to the people who
benefit. Homeless Link’s network of Regional Managers
are able to reach out to local services and communities,
to support them in making applications to the Fund, and
to help in delivering funded projects. Regional Managers
One year on from the launch of the £20m Homelessness Transition Fund, and its ambition to end rough sleeping in England, Fund Director Samantha Rennie steps back to see how we’re doing.
THAT’S THE WAYTHE MONEYGOES...
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can provide advice on good practice, signpost data
and other evidence of need for bidders, and broker links
between potential competitors to build partnerships.
Regional Managers can act as a critical friend and
sounding board, with applicants secure in the knowledge
that they have no role in assessing or deciding on bids.
As the Fund rolls out, we want more applicants to know
about and take up this support.
LEARNING FROM THE FIRST ROUNDWe asked for feedback from Round 1 and listened to
what people told us. A key lesson was the need to make
it clearer what difference the Fund – and therefore the
projects supported – intended to make. We’ve now
described the outcomes which projects need to address,
based on Homeless Link’s vision of what an end to rough
sleeping looks like and the four NSNO principles. Another
lesson from Round 1 was to make the process of applying
much clearer to applicants. We’ve now produced much
clearer criteria and guidance, and introduced an online
application system. This helps applicants know what’s
expected – and it helps us to identify relevant evidence
and assess each bid fairly.
An early decision in the Fund’s life was to set up an
independent Grants Panel. The Panel is made up
of representatives from DCLG, other government
departments (DWP, Health) and the GLA, as well as
representatives from the sector and from other funders.
The Panel’s commitment, diligence and professionalism in
considering each application is impressive, as is the level
of debate and scrutiny from wide ranging perspectives.
Their expertise was recently supplemented by two people
with direct experience of homelessness and of using
frontline services, which will bring an extra dimension to
the Panel’s deliberations.
The grants made last December were broadly spread
throughout the country, with each region in England
benefitting. We will continue to look at what we’re
funding and where, to ensure a balance of projects
across the country.
SMALL GRANTS, BIG AMBITIONThe applications received so far reinforce the recent
SNAP survey results. It’s evident that many frontline
services are firefighting as they struggle with local
authority cuts, often stripping them of professional
staff. One reason the Fund has introduced a new Small
Grants programme is that we recognise staff under
pressure need resources to take stock, scan the horizon
and adjust to what may be coming next. Sometimes
a smaller amount of money can go further in the long
term – paying for things not covered by service contracts
such as back-filling key roles, gathering evidence for
commissioners and funders, looking at different business
models, or merging backroom services with partner
agencies
As the Panel prepares to consider applications for Round
2 of the Main Grants Programme, we’re still looking
ahead, trying to learn from what we’re funding, and
what the sector is telling us. The future seems gloomy
– with increasing pressures on people, commissioners
and services. But we know the sector, and the people
who work in it, are resilient, agile, entrepreneurial and
creative. We know the sector has survived and thrived
beyond cuts and crises in the past. The Fund presents a
new, albeit narrow, window of opportunity to strengthen
those attributes, and put in place the changes needed to
achieve our shared ambition.
Samantha Rennie is Director of the Homelessness Transition Fund homeless.org.uk/fund
We are undertaking a mid-term review of the Homelessness Transition Fund in July. Please visit the website for details and to add your comments.
THE SHORTLISTTHE HOMELESS GAMESA player in the Homeless World Cup wanted to offer
a similar opportunity to others that reached beyond
football. The result was The Homeless Games. They are
an annual Olympics-style event run over two days in
Merseyside since 2010. They engaged 200 participants in
2010 and 400 in 2011, including 25 rough sleepers.
GONE FISHINGLed by knowledgeable residents and ex-residents
of Threshold, Gone Fishing was set up to encourage
residents to socialise. Having engaged in these social
activities, participants often go on to engage with other
services and opportunities. With participants ranging in
age from 5 months to 70 years old, fishing has proved to
be an inclusive and successful activity.
Looking after your wellbeing isn’t always easy, especially if you’re living in temporary accommodation. This year’s Michael Whippman Award has been looking for the best examples of projects that use physical activity to improve participants’ wellbeing. Here’s the shortlisted four, in pictures...
CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46FEATURES
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CLIMB ABOARD PROJECTAfter one-off sailing trips organised by Porchlight, a group
of clients requested more water. The answer was the
Climb Aboard Project, which offers a range of activities
and training opportunities – including sailing, kayaking,
canoeing, swimming and Royal Yachting Association
qualifications. The project also integrates team building
and healthy lifestyle classes and community links.
INSPIREInspire began three years ago as a way of providing
access to meaningful activities – from knitting to walking,
and from football to gardening . Inspire enables clients
to share their talents and passions with others – with 100%
of activities run having been identified and requested
by participants. 75% are led or coordinated by client
volunteers.
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CELEBRATING CLIENT INVOLVEMENTThe Michael Whippman Award focuses on the contributions of homeless people themselves.
The Award was set up to challenge stereotypes about who is and can become homeless, whilst also showing homeless
people that anything is possible. In previous years, it has been themed around contributions to local community, social
enterprise and raising awareness through social media.
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The Homeless Football Association (FA) is a new charity
set up in late 2011 through the hard work and vision of
a committed group of support workers from across the
country. What started as a network of grassroots projects
that wanted to share good practice, ideas and resources
with each another has grown into a national organisation
that has partnered with top premier league football
clubs.
WHY FOOTBALL?It’s our country’s national sport – and because of that it
has the potential to engage a wide range of participants.
It’s a leveller. It’s a way of stepping away from day to
day issues and socialising with others. For the Homeless
FA, football can give every person experiencing
homelessness in England the opportunity to develop their
skills and abilities, to gain self-respect and confidence, to
improve their health, and ultimately to transform their life.
By promoting fair play
and inclusiveness
in the context of
competitive football, our primary focus is on personal and
social development.
An integral part of our work is management of the
Homeless FA Community, formerly known as the Homeless
Football Network. Members of the Community can
communicate with other projects, share knowledge and
attend regional Homeless FA meetings. They can also
access centralised resources such
as a “Football for Change” model,
start-up packs for new homeless
football projects, good practice
tools, funding resources, as well
as reduced rates on pitch and kit
provision.
Community members
will also have the
chance to play in the
HFA Cup, a national
4-a-side tournament delivered by the Homeless FA and
co-hosted with a professional football club. We are
aiming towards an inaugural Homeless FA Cup in early
2013 as we keep building the profile and number of
opportunities for players across England.
To really benefit from the knowledge and experience
that exists in the sector, Community membership is open
to a wide range of organisations, from
Premier League football clubs to small
day centres, and national housing
associations to individual hostels. The
one thing we all share in common is that
we are all using football as a means of
improving the lives of homeless people.
MORE THAN A GAMEHow can kicking a ball about improve lives? Does it
always work? What life skills tie in best with a football
training session? With the help of our Community
members and our own research we will be concentrating
on the core questions of ‘what works, and why’? The
evidence base that we build will benefit all homeless
football projects as they can use this to improve their own
delivery and get buy-in to what they are doing. We’ll be
learning from our own programme, delivering six regional
Training Centres in the run up to the Homeless World Cup.
As well as the work the Homeless FA will be doing at the
local level to support local projects we want to create
a pathway for players to aspire to. The Homeless FA is
the new national partner of the Homeless World Cup
in England – and 2012 will be the first year that England
EVERYTHING TO PLAY FORIt’s an exciting year for sport in England. While headlines in 2012 are dominated by the coming London Olympic Games, Lindsey Horsfield writes about another exciting development in the world of sport – and it’s happening right here in the homelessness sector.
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enters both a men’s team and a women’s team to the
tournament. They will be identified through six pilot
Training Centres – three for men, three for women –
delivered in partnership with Arsenal in the Community,
Everton in the Community, Manchester United Foundation
and Albion in the Community.
Players
attending the
Training Centres
will get a feel
for what it is like to be a professional footballer, receiving
top quality coaching from the Premier League club’s
community coaches, tours of the stadium and an FA
Junior Leaders Award. The Training Centres will be a great
experience and opportunity for all players, regardless of
football ability. The emphasis is on personal development
and supporting players to increase their self-confidence
and self-esteem, improve stress management, and teach
leadership and other life skills.
The skills that our volunteers have who are leading the
Training Centres and taking the teams to the Homeless
World Cup are vital. We know how important staff are to
the success of any project and we are excited to have a
great mix of experience.
There are people with experience of homelessness
themselves, support staff who run successful homeless
football projects, and two England internationals! Rachel
Brown and Fara Williams who play for Everton Ladies and
the England Women’s teams will run the Everton women’s
Training Centre and coach the women’s Homeless
World Cup side. We’re thrilled to have such inspirational
individuals involved.
LOOKING FORWARDFrom 2013 we intend to develop and increase the support
we can offer to the Homeless FA Community. We can
do this partly by registering more organisations that are
willing to share their expertise and experience with their
colleagues across England. There will be the HFA Cup to
look forward to at the beginning of the year, soon after
which the Training Centres will commence.
Next year we plan to increase from our original six pilot
areas to include more of the country. We will continue to
encourage the homelessness sector to utilise the power
of football, and empower the sporting world to recognise
football’s potential to support the most vulnerable
members of society.
If your organisation currently uses football as a way
of engaging and supporting people experiencing
homelessness email us at [email protected].
Lindsey Horsfield is Chair of Homeless FA
www.homelessfa.org
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TAKEASTEPTHE HOMELESS HACKAs a sector, we rely increasingly on gadgetry and IT. It
helps us to track the effectiveness of the work we do,
record our work with clients, and report back to funding
commissioners – and with computers and mobile devices
so accessible now, internet and mobile technology has
become an essential tool for homeless people too.
It’s not often that a group of developers, graphic
designers and all round IT gurus get together and actually
volunteer their time and knowledge to help prevent
homelessness. But that’s exactly what happened one
Saturday in June, when Go On Uk, in partnership with
Westminster City Council, SHP, Homeless Link and others,
hosted their Homeless Hack Day, bringing together over
50 homelessness and IT professionals, as well as homeless
clients themselves. The challenge was to develop IT
based solutions to homelessness issues – all within 8 hours!
The short timescale is the reason it’s call a hack day (or
Hackathon) – and it’s probably the reason it works. The
time limit creates a real sense of intrepid energy and
urgency, which seems all the more fitting because of the
cause. After initial presentations and a Q&A session with
the homelessness pros, the IT crowd got straight on with
their mission, breaking into groups based on their areas of
expertise and the briefs handed out to them.
THE BRIEFThere were four broad challenges that participants were
asked to work on. (1) Is there an internet based or mobile
technology solution to ending rough sleeping? (2) How
can we use SMS and other widely available technology
to connect homeless people to services they need?
(3) How can we connect homeless clients who have no
access to smartphones or other mobile technology with
web based services that can help them? And (4) Can
we make use of free Wi-Fi and mobile internet to help
homelessness practitioners assist clients?
After 8 hours of intense coding, designing and writing -
not to mention copious amounts of pizza and coffee - the
groups were ready to present their work. The six resulting
projects were astounding. They included ‘Everyone In’,
a mobile app for members of the public to help people
sleeping rough, and ‘Life Map’, a visual tool for staff and
clients to track progress. The winning project opened up
the Homeless UK database to location searches.
Of course, after 8 hours, what we had were prototypes,
not finished products. But the concentrated vision, energy
and expertise that went into them means they all have
immense potential. I think there’s a very real chance that
some of them will become real, usable solutions soon.
For more, visit: homelesshack.com
WHAT’S YOUR STEP? homeless.org.uk/take-a-step
Across the country, people are joining our campaign to end homelessness and rough sleeping. In June, our Data & Policy Analyst Shaun Forde took part in one of the more tech-savvy steps we’ve heard about to date.
“I’m helping to end rough sleeping by creating innovative technology for homelessness services.”
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MANAGINGPEOPLE
Over the last few years the operating environment in our sector has become more and more challenging.
Public sector procurement practices
have driven down service contract
prices and more recently the
government’s austerity measures have
resulted in the decommissioning and
reconfiguring of services.
The need to innovate and deliver differently across the
homelessness sector is becoming more important given
the current resource constraints. In a recent CIPD survey
two fifths of organisations reported that creativity and
innovation are critical to their organisation.
It is becoming increasingly common within the non-profit
sector to have processes in place which encourage staff
to innovate, but how easy is this to achieve, especially for
the smaller organisations that don’t have a lot of money
to throw at these sorts of initiatives?
You’ve heard the common adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it’ but in an ever changing sector, in which we are
frequently being challenged by low cost competitors, we
must adapt or we will get left behind.
So what does creativity and innovation mean to you?
It’s not just about creating or inventing. It’s also about
developing new ways of working, and improving services
for our clients. Creativity and innovation is the ability to
source and develop new ideas, to solve problems and
bring about tangible improvements to services and
resources.
Try thinking about things from different perspectives
and more importantly, looking at things through other
people’s eyes. For example: your customers, clients,
competitors and funders. What barriers might they
see? How
can you reduce these? This type of
approach can really help challenge your mind set and is
a useful approach to try at team meetings.
Try these top tips to encourage creative thinking:
• Take part in brainstorming sessions at team meetings
- use mind mapping to tap into your creativity.
• Try Edward de Bono’s ‘Six Thinking Hats’ technique for
structuring team discussions for problem-solving and
generating ideas. It’s a great way of ensuring that
everyone contributes creatively, and that the whole
output is greater than the sum of individual inputs.
• Get involved in an action learning set.
• Take risks and if things don’t go as well as you had
hoped, consider it a learning opportunity!
• Get out and about – networking provides a great
opportunity for gaining insight into new ways of
working.
• Be aware of your ‘killer phrases’ such as ‘”there isn’t
time”, “it’s been done before” and “it won’t work”.
They’re a sure way to stifle creativity.
Helen Giles is HR Director of Broadway and Managing Director of Broadway’s Real People HR consultancy
www.broadwaysrealpeople.com
Dear Helen,Our service has been under so much pressure that it feels like we couldn’t be further from ending homelessness. How can we revive the passion and creativity we need to really make a difference?
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Jo Youle, Director of Services at Missing People, tells us about how their new helpline service can help homeless adults to reconnect.
DANNY’S STORYDanny went missing in 2005 at the age of 21, from his
family home. There had been no
new information about Danny for
7 years, leaving the family very
worried about his wellbeing.
However, Danny made contact
by calling Missing People’s 116
000 helpline. He said he was
unsure of how to get back in
touch with his family or what to
say after so long. He said that
every day since he left he had
wanted to find a way to say sorry,
but just hadn’t been able to find
the words.
We worked with Danny to
prepare what he wanted to say
to explain himself and to help find
the courage to send a message
home. Danny asked us to contact
his parents the same day. They
were incredibly overwhelmed but
very grateful to hear such good news after so many long
years.
The message they ask us to pass back to Danny read
‘We think about you every day, you have never stopped
being our son. We love you very much’
This message was enough for Danny; he found the
confidence to make contact with his family again for
the first time in 7 years. A wonderful result and one many
families can only dream of.
RECONNECTING VULNERABLE PEOPLEAs Director of Services at Missing People, I hear stories
like Danny’s on a daily basis. Our work often involves
connecting a person who is at risk to a local homeless
service - or supporting someone to re-establish contact
with their family or carers.
A reconnection with family may, in some cases, offer an
early way of helping people who are sleeping rough off
the streets. Before contacting agencies in the person’s
local area, a conversation
might be had with them about
whether they have family that
they might be able to return to
or stay with. If they want support
in reconnecting with family, we
offer free 24 hour confidential
support and advice by phone,
e-mail and text. This might involve
exchanging messages or being
helped to make contact with
family via a three-way call by our
helpline team. Three-way calls are
also often used to support callers
to connect with key workers and
mental health teams.
WORKING TOGETHEROur team have recently received
training from Homeless Link to
increase our skills in handling calls
from rough sleepers. We have a
comprehensive database that
we use to refer callers to, including homeless services
across the country, who we regularly signpost callers to.
When appropriate, we also support callers to contact
emergency housing services in their area.
We want as many people as possible to know that we
can be a lifeline for them. By promoting our services and
referring people you work with to us, you can help give
them an extra option to turn to when things get tough.
If you would like to know more or would like to be sent
Missing People’s 116 000 promotional material, including
leaflets and posters, then please contact Jonathan Hirst:
www.missingpeople.org.uk
MISSING PEOPLE
WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK 43
CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46 INSPIRED
WHAT’S ON?UPCOMING TRAINING AND EVENTS FOR THE HOMELESSNESS SECTOR:
JULY
WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK
FREE WEBINAR | EFFECTIVE ACTIONFaith group involvement in tackling rough sleeping - looking at good practice approaches to rough sleeping, No Second Night Out and more.
11:30AM-12:30PM
http://bit.ly/connect-webinar-faithgroups
PASSION, SKILLS & CREATIVITY: PATHWAYS TO WELLBEINGThere are practical steps you can take to help improve the wellbeing of the people you support, through sports, arts and outdoor activities.
Tuesday 25 September 2012 | Birmingham
http://homeless.org.uk/event-wellbeing
26
25
STAY IN THE LOOPFor up to date information on events and training, visit...
www.homeless.org.uk/conference-diary www.homeless.org.uk/training
...and subscribe to our regular member bulletins...
www.homeless.org.uk/keep-informed
SEPTEMBER
44 WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK
COMMENT CONNECT JULY 2012 | ISSUE 46
We’ve pulled together a list of resources and research related to the features in CONNECT 46. If you have any information you would like to share with our member organisations, please write to [email protected].
RESOURCES
HOMELESS LINK INFORMATION Ending homelessness - join the debateHelp us to make sure our work is relevant to you
and the people you support.
www.endhomelessness.org.uk
Take a Step - to help end rough sleepingJoin our campaign - on our website or on
Facebook.
homeless.org.uk/take-a-stepfacebook.com/homelesslink
Effective ActionGood practice guidance for local authorities and
services
homeless.org.uk/effective-action
Homelessness Transition FundOpen to applications for Small Grants
homeless.org.uk/fund
Our policy workWhere to start looking for information on our policy
campaigning and lobbying.
www.homeless.org.uk/policy-roundup
In the regionsMeet your Homeless Link regional managers.
homeless.org.uk/contact-regional-manager
And your NAC representatives.
homeless.org.uk/contact-nac
WOMEN & HOMELESSNESS
Rebuilding Shattered Lives
www.rebuildingshatteredlives.org
Domestic violence and homelessness
www.homeless.org.uk/domestic-violence
Women’s Aid
www.womensaid.org.uk
Broken Rainbow
www.broken-rainbow.org
CONTRIBUTOR LINKS
Choir With No Name - www.choirwithnoname.org
Homeless FA - www.homelessfa.org
Homeless Hack Day - homelesshack.com
Missing People - www.missingpeople.org.uk
Real People - www.broadwaysrealpeople.com
Streetwise Opera - www.streetwiseopera.org
Two Saints - www.twosaints.org.uk
WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK