The University of York has released its evaluation of our Housing First Strategic Grant Programme. The research report summarises the three-year programme, sharing learnings, challenges and successes to examine the transformative impact of the Housing First model.
The evaluation by the Centre for Housing Policy focuses on research including two rounds of fieldwork. Service providers and recipients across seven areas shared their views and experiences. Monthly Housing First statistic returns from service providers also inform the report. The findings show success in ending homelessness despite challenges posed by COVID-19. Beneficiaries shared positive feedback and spoke about how the services made a difference.
What is Housing First?
Housing First is an innovative approach to addressing homelessness. It offers immediate, unconditional housing to individuals with complex needs. These are often multiple high level needs such as severe mental health concerns and addiction.
Once housed, individuals receive intensive ongoing support from a dedicated team. Case managers and specialists deliver participant-led support tailored to participants’ unique needs.
In traditional housing models for homelessness, such as a treatment-first model or staircase approach, service providers may require an individual seeking housing to complete certain steps to reach ‘housing readiness’. For example, stopping drinking alcohol or taking substances, or having psychiatric treatment. Housing First prioritises safe, stable accommodation, considering this a fundamental right.
The Housing First model recognises how vital stable housing is in addressing broader life challenges such as employment and health. It aims to break the cycle of homelessness and support individuals to make lasting positive changes.
The Strategic Grant Programme The Henry Smith Strategic Grant Programme initially supported six UK Housing First initiatives.
These services tackled long-term and recurrent homelessness associated with complex needs. The grant programme ran for three years in rural and suburban areas.
The grant also supported innovation by adding specialist Housing First team members for women. A seventh service provider joined in year three, securing grant support to continue service delivery.
A practical toolkit to support small charities in developing and delivering Housing First is a second output of the research. You can access the toolkit from the University of York website.
Below are some highlights from the report, along with common challenges and future opportunities.
Successes
The report highlights three key successes:
- Extending services into rural and suburban settings.
- Contributing new evidence to the ongoing debate about the future of Housing First in the UK.
- Supporting innovation by integrating specialist team members into existing services.
There is an emphasis on the need for Housing First services for women, managed, and run by women to address the intersection of domestic abuse, gender-based violence, and trauma..
Adding specialist women’s team members to existing services emerged as a priority for creating effective tailored support.
"…[I feel] much more secure than I have been in the last eight years… I was living on the streets for 18 months when I first lost my house… Now, to get in somewhere of my own… that I can actually call my home… It’s just amazing."
Woman using Housing First, 2023
Challenges in Housing First Provision Despite these successes, the report identified challenges in securing affordable, and adequate housing.
It notes that ‘good quality social housing is in many senses the ideal tenure for Housing First’. But social housing was ‘effectively inaccessible’ in many areas due to pressure, long wait times and depleted stocks. This meant relying on the private rented sector.
Some key challenges identified were:
- Waits and barriers to accessing health, mental health, addiction, and social care services.
- The rising cost of living.
- The lack of services to refer individuals up or down to.
- The time-limited nature of current funding.
None of the Housing First team members interviewed described access to other services or housing as sufficient.
All seven Housing Services believed there was a good case for expansion, but all had concerns about the security of future funding. Team members expressed these worries in the context of deep cuts to local authority budgets since 2010.[1]
These challenges highlight the importance of strategic integration, core funding, and strong working relationships.
Challenges for Women All the Housing First services supported women experiencing long-term and repeated homelessness.
The grant programme also supported two services to add specific specialist support for women.
Key issues that emerged include a greater need for safeguarding women with complex needs. Sustained cuts to domestic violence services, refuges and sanctuary schemes over most of the UK have increased challenges for women[2].
Service providers cited issues such as substance abuse, alcoholism, and trauma associated with the loss of children, and domestic abuse. Some women needed protection from former partners and at-risk women were at risk of exploitation.
“It’s identifying, and often I feel like absorbing, the barriers that women face when they’re trying to end the cycle of homelessness. It’s trauma-informed, gender-informed support.”
Housing First team member, 2023
Ingredients for Successful Development
The evaluation of this programme has added to the body of evidence that Housing First services can end long-term homelessness in the UK. Ingredients for successful development include:
1) Sufficient resources for the primary Housing First service and additional housing, health, mental health, addiction and social care support
2) Stakeholder relationships and partnerships play a significant role in successful outcomes. The model ultimately depends on stakeholder relationships. For example, with landlords, health, welfare and social care services and key partnerships such as with the police
3) Focusing on the unique needs of diverse groups is a significant opportunity. Addressing systemic challenges will make Housing First even more effective in transforming lives
Challenges for Rural Areas
New Housing First services were set up in rural and suburban areas in England and Wales, showing the approach can work outside urban areas. But there were some common challenges to address.
Firstly, housing market stress was high, and wait times for social housing could be considerable. Securing suitable housing in rural areas with a significant tourist industry could be even more difficult.
Poor access to affordable public transport is an issue that arose in more rural areas, but it was also difficult in some suburbs and smaller towns.
“… it would just be great if we could grow… People say, ‘Housing First is the way forward for homelessness’. We do have more clients that we would love to be able to take on. We’d like to see more properties, and then more clients. That would need more staff.”
Housing First team member, 2023
“I’ve had people that didn’t even know they wanted to recover, recover under my support, which was really nice. I’ve really seen people turn their lives around, which is incredible, and I think people reach out to me when they really need someone to speak to, which is lovely.”
Housing First team member, 2023
Conclusion Results for the Housing First services in terms of ending homelessness were consistently strong.
To grow and improve, it is clear that Housing First requires:
- sufficient provision of secure housing
- consistent access to adequate, long-term funding
- joined-up, collaborative work with well-funded care services
Currently, the UK still needs to put these in place.
The primary report recommendation is for the UK government to create a national strategy and budget to integrate Housing First with key services while supporting its delivery.