[Skip to Content]
“A place to call home

“A place to call home"

“A place to call home"

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Hannah Gousy spent nine months on secondment from Crisis to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank to help them design policy recommendations to tackle homelessness and end rough sleeping in England. She blogs on her findings:

“Over the last seven years, the number of people experiencing homelessness has risen significantly. At the sharpest end, rough sleeping has increased by over 130% since 2010 to over 4,000 on any given night. Numbers are highest in London.

The Centre for Social Justice has presented an ambitious plan address this problem. A national Housing First programme features as the key component of this strategy.

In contrast to the ‘housing ready’ or ‘treatment first’ approach of the UK hostel system, Housing First is based on the simple idea that the best way to solve homelessness is to provide people with their own home. Housing First prioritises rapid access to a stable home for those with high support needs, but that is only the start. Once rehoused, people are offered the necessary services to address the reasons why they may have become homeless to start with.

Housing First has been widely adopted in North America and Western Europe, including the U.S., Belgium and Spain, and has formed a central component of national strategies in Canada, Denmark, Finland and France to reduce and stem rising homelessness.

Of course there are people who have concerns that Housing First would mean that people get to ‘queue jump’, citing the issue of those who have had to wait many years on the social housing queue and a perceived unfairness of fast-tracking accommodation for rough sleepers and others with support needs.

Hostel providers have also raised concerns that the current environment of funding reductions for supported housing may be compounded if Housing First is somehow seen as a panacea or justification for further cuts to existing provision.

But the arguments for adopting this approach as national policy in the UK are now too compelling to ignore. Wherever Housing First has been adopted at scale it has provided successful results, with high tenancy sustainment rates and improved health and wellbeing outcomes.

As part of our work, the CSJ calculated that a national Housing First programme would cost £110 million per year. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has estimated that after two years of implementing Housing First for 46,000 people the Government would save £200 million per year, making this programme cost neutral over the course of a parliament.

If the Government adopt a national Housing First programme, this would represent a significant mind-shift in the way homeless people are seen and our shared aspirations for their future. Yes, we still need to address the political choices that create homelessness in the first place (welfare cuts, lack of affordable housing, etc.), and the CSJ report also address these issues, but the case for Housing First as part of the solution to homelessness is now undeniable.

Having a stable place to call home is fundamental to the life chances of us all, and Housing First offers that opportunity to those who need it most.”

You can read the full report here.

To share your views on Housing First – start a discussion on the Forum.

Download PDF.

News and Views

collapse/expand
  • Brain Injury Guidance

    Brain Injury Guidance

    Leigh Andrews of Change Communication offered specialist advice on brain injuries and homelessness through a digital...
  • End Furniture Poverty Survey

    End Furniture Poverty Survey

    End Furniture Poverty have recently spoken with the Frontline Network to discuss their important ongoing survey, seek...
  • Cover the Cost Campaign

    Cover the Cost Campaign

    Jasmine Basran, Senior Policy Officer at Crisis, talks to us about the Cover the Cost Campaign, asking the Government...
  • VRF Impact Report 2018/19

    VRF Impact Report 2018/19

    Over the past year we have given out 3827 grants totaling £1,156,805 through the VRF. Read the latest Impact Report t...
  • Influence from the Frontline

    Influence from the Frontline

    Frontline workers are crucial at giving insight into the viewpoints of the people they work with as well as the chall...
  • The Vagrancy Act

    The Vagrancy Act

    Crisis, along with others including Homeless Link, Cymorth Cymru, Centrepoint, St Mungo’s, Shelter Cymru and the Wall...
  • Influencing local decisions

    Influencing local decisions

    Zoe, Frontline Network Coordinator at Coventry Citizens Advice, talks to us about the Coventry Frontline Network and...
  • The Litigant in Person Network

    The Litigant in Person Network

    Martha de la Roche, Network Development Manager at Litigant in Person Network (LiP Network), tells us about The LiP N...
  • VRF Impact Report

    VRF Impact Report

    Find out what impact VRF had last year and how to get involved in shaping its direction in the coming year.
  • Housing First Scotland

    Housing First Scotland

    Please see here for the first issue of Housing First Connect - a twice-yearly newsletter for Scotland’s new Housing F...
  • Slaying the Dragon

    Slaying the Dragon

    Will Golding, Edinburgh Tutor at Crisis, talks to us about 'Slaying the Dragon'.
  • CPAG - Early Warning System

    CPAG - Early Warning System

    Dan Norris, from CPAG, talks to us about a new Early Warning System to record the impact of benefit changes implement...
  • The Hostile Environment

    The Hostile Environment

    Bethan Lant, a Project lead from Praxis, writes about the creation of a hostile environment for migrants and refugees.
  • Wrexham’s Crisis Cafe

    Wrexham’s Crisis Cafe

    Sinead Kelleher writes about Wrexham's Crisis Cafe, a multi-agency response to Universal Credit.
  • Frontline Worker Survey

    Frontline Worker Survey

    We are asking frontline workers to participate in a survey, aimed at those working with clients who are experiencing...
  • A map through conflict

    A map through conflict

    A Cyrenians Mediator writes about their innovative Amber Mediation and Support Project, a model of mediation and supp...
  • “A place to call home"

    “A place to call home"

    Hannah Gousy was seconded from Crisis to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) to help design policy recommendations to...
  • A London Nightshelter

    A London Nightshelter

    On 7 November we opened our church-based shelters for the winter with more churches signed on then ever before. Glass...
  • 'Step Up' at The Connection

    'Step Up' at The Connection

    Wyn Newman introduces the volunteer programme 'Step Up' that has been developed at The Connection for service users.