The importance of a gender and trauma informed response for homeless women

Women’s homelessness is often hidden and, according to those working in the homelessness sector, a far wider and more nuanced problem than official statistics suggest. Homes for Cathy spoke to Gill Cook, Head of Supported Housing at the Salvation Army Housing Association (SAHA) to find out why tailored, gender-informed homelessness services and interventions are key to helping women move forward with their lives after homelessness.

What homelessness services does SAHA provide specifically for women?

We have a 26-bed Edwardian house in Notting Hill, London with 23 single occupancy rooms with shared facilities and three self-contained mother and baby units. The service is commissioned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and takes referrals for single, homeless young women aged 16 to 30 with support needs.

Currently, around 60 per cent of the service users there are 16- and 17-year-old unaccompanied minors who have come through the immigration system and are either waiting for their immigration status or have indefinite leave to remain. The remainder have complex needs, including mental and domestic violence. Roughly one in three have a statutory duty of care through mental health.

In Guildford, we run a 15-bed hostel for single women aged 18 and over, with no children. The common denominator is that all our clients have experienced trauma as children or as adults in the form of domestic abuse, which has led to their homelessness in one way or another.

For young parents, we provide the Sussex young parents service, which is commissioned by East Sussex County Council’s adult social care team, and includes two five-bedroom houses in New Haven and Eastbourne, for young women aged 16 to 25. Our clients have a housing need but also complex needs and are either pregnant or have up to two children under the age of five. We also run an 11-bed supported accommodation service in St Leonards for young parents aged 16-25, again with both housing and complex needs.

Gill Cook, Head of Supported Housing, SAHA

How do women experience homelessness differently from men?

When we think of homelessness, we tend to think of rough sleeping. While women do rough sleep, the majority are hidden homeless, with many entering into unsafe relationships to prevent themselves from rough sleeping. As a result, there is a lot of trauma and psychological and physical abuse around women’s homelessness, which isn’t necessarily considered as the first issue. What’s more, women tend to be further down the line before they access support, so by the time they come to us, their needs tend to be more complex.

Why are women-only homelessness services important?

One of the main problems with the homelessness services commissioned by local authorities is that they’re not specifically for women. This can lead to added trauma for women experiencing homelessness, as they do not want to access supported housing provision where they have to share it with men. This is particularly an issue for trans women. It’s a cycle we could break if gender-specific services were properly funded.

Unfortunately, ringfenced funding for these kinds of services was removed many years ago and, year on year, local authorities have reduced commissioning. Registered providers end up subsidising services to maintain service quality. Looking ahead, the new Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act will require local housing authorities to publish a supported housing strategy assessing how provision meets local need, which could have a positive impact on the range and types of homelessness services local authorities provide.

How do you ensure an environment of physical and psychological safety in your women only homelessness services?

The key issue is getting women through the door in the first instance, so it’s vital to make services accessible, as they may feel uncomfortable or scared, or they simply don’t want to admit that they need support. Our services don’t take direct referrals, so it’s important to build good relationships with the local authority housing team who can then signpost women to us. We invite local authority housing officers to come and visit the service and chat with residents, so they know exactly who we are and what we do.

The support we offer is trauma-informed and person-centred, which really makes a difference. We invite potential new residents to come round and have a look at the service, so they have already seen the environment and built a relationship with us before they move in. Often, the women we support have already received labels through contact with the criminal justice system or mental health services, so they feel a lot of shame. To help overcome this, we take a peer approach, encouraging existing residents to show new residents round the service.

In terms of staff recruitment, we believe it’s essential to have the right people on the bus, which starts by having the women who use our services involved in the recruitment process, so they feel in control over the staff who come into the scheme and deliver support, and are able to have trusted professionals in their lives.

How can mixed-gender homelessness schemes be improved to better support women?

It’s key to take a trauma informed approach in mixed-gender services too, that’s based on kindness and compassion. Whatever their gender, we try to empower residents to go ‘against their script’ and keep their own clear boundaries to keep themselves and others safe. We also employ male staff, so that both our male and female residents have positive male role models.

In terms of the physical environment, where we have a large building such as the large hostel we run in Liverpool, we have separate clusters for men and women, and safety is managed by the fact that male residents cannot access the female cluster and vice versa.

What approaches do you take to help women recover?

It can sometimes be challenging for residents to access local services such as drug and alcohol support, particularly if they’re located too far away or if the resident has serious mental health problems. We’ve been able to secure funding to bring services in-house at some schemes, which is really helping to prevent a repeat cycle of homelessness.

The right staff training and the right management support is essential. Not only do staff members need the skills to support clients in their journeys, but as an employer we also need to consider the vicarious trauma they might experience dealing with difficult issues day to day. All our staff receive trauma informed practice training, with a focus on their own wellbeing and resilience. Staff members may also have lived experience, so it’s key that we manage that and protect their safety. Aside from formal training, staff can access one to one supervision outside of their management supervision if they need to, which means they’re able to deliver better interventions.

At our London women’s service, we have a six-week resettlement support plan for when residents move on, but there is an open-door policy forever and our ‘alumni’ can reach out to us for support when things get tough. We’ve noticed that residents can sometimes struggle at the 18-month mark, and peer support from women who have moved out and moved on can really help to inspire them for the future.

What barriers do residents face in moving to long-term, permanent housing and how can these be overcome?

The right type of accommodation is vital but sadly, there is very, very little housing available for women to move on to from our services and on occasion, the accommodation they are offered is not appropriate. For example, we see situations where residents are offered a shared house – for someone who has been the victim of abuse or childhood trauma and has high levels of anxiety, this can be extremely hard. It runs the risk of revisiting that trauma all over again. To help overcome this, we are a registered AQA provider and offer learning for residents on how to live in shared accommodation.

Affordability is also a problem; in areas such as Kensington & Chelsea, Hastings and Guildford where we run services, the price of private rental property is outside the scope of our residents, as local housing allowance does not tend to cover the cost of the rent. Residents can also face barriers in terms of finding a guarantor for private rental.

Women can also struggle with being placed outside of the borough, as they can be far from friends and family and face losing their local support network. On a positive note, our open-door approach means we’re able to support former residents who are having issues with their tenancies once they move on.

Finally, what message would you like to get across to housing associations seeking to better support women who have experienced homelessness?

The trauma informed approach we take in supported housing is equally relevant in general needs. Women who have experienced homelessness are much more likely to be able to sustain a tenancy if, when they talk to their housing officer, they receive a gender and trauma informed response.

Salvation Army Housing Association (SAHA) is a registered provider and an exempt charity that started developing housing and services in 1959. A wholly controlled subsidiary of The Salvation Army, the association has grown into a specialist provider of support and accommodation with approximately 4100 units of accommodation located across England in 86 local authority areas.

Stop the Criminal Justice Bill from Criminalising Homelessness

Homes for Cathy partner Crisis – alongside the Chartered Institute of Housing, National Housing Federation, Shelter and many more groups working to end homelessness – is urging members to lend their support to a campaign to stop the Government’s plans to criminalise sleeping on the streets being introduced through the Criminal Justice Bill.

In February last year, both Houses of Parliament supported the repeal of the Vagrancy Act via an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in a landmark rejection of the outdated laws that criminalise sleeping rough. However, no commencement date was included so the Vagrancy Act technically remains in force.

The Criminal Justice Bill replicates the worst parts of the Vagrancy Act. If passed, it would mean people who are homeless in England and Wales could face fines or even prison for so-called ‘nuisance rough sleeping’ and ‘nuisance begging’. Planned measures include moving people on, imprisoning them and fining them up to £2,500.

This not only reneges on the UK Government’s repeal of the Vagrancy Act but risks breaking down trust in services and pushing people further into destitution and exploitation, undermining the Government’s own efforts to end rough sleeping.

Homes for Cathy chair, David Bogle, commented:

“Many of our members run accommodation and support services for rough sleepers and work extremely hard to build trust and deliver interventions to help people move on to a more stable and secure future. We know that criminalisation of rough sleeping is not the answer.”

Before the Bill returns to Parliament for the upcoming Report Stage, Homes for Cathy members can join the collective call to support amendments that will put a stop to the plans by writing to their local MP.

A template MP letter is available to download here, and more background detail on the Bill and proposed amendments can be found here. Homes for Cathy members who write to their local MP are invited to add the details here.

Preventing the cycle of repeat homelessness for ex-offenders

Leave a reply

Around 600 people leave prison into homelessness every month, according to official figures. Without a home to go to after being released, it is virtually impossible for prison leavers to get a job, build positive relationships or reintegrate back into society – as a result, two-thirds are likely to reoffend within a year*.

In a positive move, in 2023 the Government announced the rollout of the Community Accommodation Service scheme, following an initial pilot in 2021. The scheme will offer temporary housing for up to 12 weeks to 12,000 prisoners in England and Wales at risk of being released into homelessness.

Positive outcomes with a long-term approach

Homes for Cathy member Longhurst Group has seen the positive outcomes of such schemes at first hand, but its own experiences underline the importance of a long-term approach to working with this cohort.

One of the largest housing groups in the Midlands and East of England, the Group has owned and run housing related support services in Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire for many years and was most recently awarded ongoing funding in July 2020. The service provides 48 bed spaces over 17 shared accommodation properties for homeless vulnerable people with complex and multiple needs, with a focus on rough sleepers and prison leavers.

Most of the portfolio is situated in the East Marsh area, which is ranked 25^th out of 32,844 areas in England for multiple deprivation. The average house price is around £70,000. Grimsby has the highest crime rate in Lincolnshire with 146 crimes per 1,000 people – 71% higher than the rest of Lincolnshire.

Service Manager, Rob Sumner has worked in the area for the Group for more than six years. In that time, he has seen the lives of many vulnerable people turned around with the support that is provided.

A high proportion of service users have been through the service previously

Rob said, “In the last 12 months, 74 percent of the service users were male, with 80 percent of those having some form of criminality. Due to the nature of the service, there can be a high turnover of customers. Many customers have been in and around the system for years, whether this be social care, prison or other supported accommodation; this means that a high proportion have been through the service previously.”

The ethos of the service is always to give customers a chance. Colleagues adapt their approach and work in a person-centred, trauma-informed way, which can make a real difference and positively impact a person’s life.

Most prison leavers will be homeless because their criminality has affected their ability to secure housing and/or their stay in prison is too long for them to be able to effectively sustain a tenancy. A lot of the work the service completes is goal orientated and tailored to the individual, and developing trust between colleagues and customers is key.

Daniel Revell-Wiseman, Head of Specialised Services at Longhurst Group, said:

“Colleagues seek every opportunity to develop a positive working relationship with customers, underpinned with professionalism, respect and a desire to go the extra mile and make a real difference to the people we support. The service is very fast paced, as often customers are referred and need to be housed at short notice straight from prison.”

Daniel Revell-Wiseman. Head of Specialised Services Longhurst Group

The team recently worked with John (name changed), who has been in and out of the service five times over the last eight years. Each time, John was accepted back with the view that each stay moved him closer to his ultimate goal of living in his own home. John received support on each occasion and is now free from substances for the first time in years. John is no longer involved in crime and, late last year, was successful in moving into his own flat. He is now in receipt of a lower-level of support from the service to help him continue to manage his tenancy.

* Source: Nacro

Give your feedback on Government social housing allocations consultation

Leave a reply

The Government’s proposed reforms to overhaul social housing allocations include plans to amend the eligibility criteria for social housing allocations, making mandatory some of the factors that are currently at a local authority’s discretion when applying eligibility criteria. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ consultation on the proposed reforms, seeking feedback from stakeholders, including social landlords, is open until 26 March 2024.

Homes for Cathy will be running an online focus group on 12 March 2024, 10-11.30am, to give members the opportunity to voice their views on the Government’s plans – and the potential impact on homelessness – to feed into our response to the consultation.

The discussion will address the following proposals:

1. UK connection test – where a person must demonstrate their connection to the UK before they can be allocated social housing. This can be achieved by (a) being a British citizen, Irish citizen, Commonwealth citizen with a right of abode, or EEA or Swiss citizen with equal treatment rights; or (b) by being a lawful resident in the UK for 10 years.

2. Local connection test – where a person must demonstrate a connection to a local area for at least 2 years before they can be allocated social housing. This will ensure greater consistency across the country and ensure more local people can access social housing in the area they call home, supporting people to put down roots and maintain links to family and community.

3. Income test – setting thresholds for applicants and those on a waiting list to qualify for social housing. This will have no impact on existing tenants, but rather will ensure new tenancies are reserved for those who, at the point of signing for a new social home, would most struggle to afford private accommodation.

4. Anti-social behaviour test – people who have unspent convictions for certain criminal anti-social behaviour, as well as certain civil sanctions, will be disqualified from social housing for a defined period.

5. Terrorism test – terrorist offenders with unspent convictions will not qualify for social housing unless excluding them would increase the risk to public safety.

6. Grounds for eviction (anti-social behaviour and terrorist offences) – implementing a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy for repeat offenders of anti-social behaviour, and creating a new ground for eviction for terrorist offences.

7. Fraudulent declaration test – mandating a period of disqualification for those who knowingly or recklessly make false statements when applying for social housing.

8. Applicants on a waiting list – applying the new eligibility and qualification tests not only to new applicants but also to those currently on a social housing waiting list.

If you would like to attend the focus group, please register by clicking on the link below and we will be in touch with joining information.

Homes for Cathy unites housing sector for homelessness conference

Around 100 housing professionals came together to discuss and debate housing associations’ role in ending homelessness at the annual Homes for Cathy conference, held on 17 October in London.

This year’s conference was opened by Mike Amesbury, the new Shadow Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness, who set the scene with a keynote speech on Labour’s priorities for tackling the homelessness crisis. Mr Amesbury spoke of the three ‘pillars’ needed to end rough sleeping and homelessness: cross-departmental political leadership, increasing the supply of social homes and a ‘helping hand’ to provide support where it is needed, including a welfare system that has ‘dignity and compassion’.

Throughout the day, leaders from 26 Homes for Cathy member and affiliate organisations – including NHF, CIH, Crisis and Shelter – spoke on a wide range of homelessness-related topics encompassing:

Housing associations’ role in ending homelessness – and the risk that an increased focus on tenant satisfaction could exclude the very people housing associations were set up to help.
The impact of race on experiences of homelessness and how funding focused on rough sleeping neglects other forms of homelessness prevalent among racialised minorities, which in turn reinforces structuralised racism.
The unique set of challenges faced by young people who are experiencing homelessness and how a combination of lower benefit levels and strict affordability assessments by providers can lock them out of the stable housing they need to pursue education and training.
The ‘river of co-production’ and the mutual benefits for service providers and service users of equal and reciprocal partnerships.
The intrinsic link between domestic abuse and homelessness and how housing is the primary barrier for women attempting to leave abusive situations.
The complexities of migrant homelessness and the importance of fostering links between mainstream housing and the refugee/migrant sectors to deliver tailored housing and support solutions.
The need to make a property a ‘home’ for people moving away from homelessness, the value of that in terms of tenancy sustainment and the strategies housing providers can take to ensure tenants have the essentials they need.
The importance of flexible, person-centred approaches to keep customers in their tenancies – and avoid contributing to a repeat cycle of homelessness, particularly as increasing numbers of tenants face financial pressures amid the cost-of-living crisis.
How the development of more social homes is key to addressing the housing and homelessness crisis – and the policy changes that could unlock supply.

The conference’s closing plenary was delivered by Liz Laurence, Head of Programme for the Royal Foundation’s Homewards initiative, which is convening stakeholders from both the private and public sectors to find innovative local solutions to end homelessness.

Homes for Cathy chair David Bogle, chief executive of Hightown Housing Association, commented:

“Despite living in the world’s sixth biggest economy, people are still living with no place to call their home in this country. Rough sleeping is only the tip of the iceberg – statutory data shows 83,240 households were facing homelessness between January to March 2023, up 5.7% from January to March 2022, while the number of households living in temporary accommodation has also continued to climb steeply with 104,510 people sleeping in temporary accommodation on 31st March 2023, an increase of 10 per cent since last year.

“It’s clear that the housing sector can and should do more to alleviate this escalating crisis, whether that’s building more homes, developing supported housing solutions that meet local need or working to ensure tenants sustain successful tenancies and avoid repeat homelessness.

“As housing associations continue to juggle the competing demands of a challenging operating environment, the Homes for Cathy conference provides an ideal opportunity for our members and their partners to think outside the box, learn from each other, innovate and ultimately keep a focus on their social purpose of ending homelessness.”

Homes for Cathy seeks member feedback on the consultation for Consumer Standards and Code of Practice

The landmark Social Housing Act has received Royal Assent to become law, transforming the role of the Regulator of Social Housing in regulating consumer standards.

It is anticipated that many of the reforms introduced by the Act will take effect on 1 April 2024, when the new consumer standards are set in motion. In the interim, the Regulator has published a consultation on the draft Consumer Standards and Code of Practice, seeking input from the sector. Homes for Cathy has prepared a draft response to the consultation in collaboration with Crisis and is encouraging members to endorse the group’s proposals in their own submissions to the Regulator.

Definition of consumers to include prospective tenants

Importantly, Homes for Cathy’s proposed amendments to the Standards and Code expand the definition of ‘consumers’ to expressly include prospective tenants who may be in statutory or non-statutory temporary accommodation or rough sleeping, not only in the scope of the Allocations and Letting section but also in the Transparency Influence and Accountability Standard sections.

The proposed amendments also explicitly state the actions registered providers should take to implement the homelessness related provisions and require them to benchmark themselves on progress.

David Bogle, chair of Homes for Cathy, said:

“We welcome the provisions in the draft Standards and Code, including the retention of provisions in the Tenancy Standard which require housing associations to assist local authorities in their homelessness duties and to try to prevent evictions through tenancy sustainment support.

“However, our proposals take this a step further, citing how this can be achieved and indicating how RPs’ progress should be benchmarked. We hope that requiring providers to adopt the practices of the best will help to create a more level playing field for housing associations in tackling homelessness.

“We also want to ensure that people experiencing homelessness – in other words prospective tenants – are recognised as consumers. Ultimately, if we cannot provide effective services to the people that are most in housing need, what is our purpose?”

To read Homes for Cathy’s draft consultation response, click here. Homes for Cathy members are invited to contact Vicki McDonald at homesfor.cathy@hightownha.org.uk with any comments by Monday 18 September. The Homes for Cathy Board will review any feedback and consider revisions to the draft before finalising a response. The final version will be shared with members by 12 October.

Nurturing partnerships to support people seeking sanctuary

Charlotte Murray, Director of Care, Health & Wellbeing at South Yorkshire Housing Association, shares how local collaboration is ensuring people seeking sanctuary have access to the support they need to settle in the UK.

In June, during Refugee Week, we got together with local people and organisations to build connections, share stories, and learn more about how we can continue to welcome and support people seeking sanctuary.

Our event celebrated everything that migrants and refugees bring to our country and communities, and shared more about our commitment to ending homelessness. We launched our new report: Ending homelessness for people seeking sanctuary in South Yorkshire. The report shares more about how we are collaborating with local organisations to fulfil the Homes for Cathy commitment to Contribute to ending migrant homelessness in the areas that Housing Associations operate; it includes examples of how we’re working with people seeking sanctuary to settle in a safe, secure home, to build connections, and to get into employment, training and education.

“I have lived experience of homelessness, and my goal is to help people. I think we can work miracles!”

– Ashiana service user

Above: Charlotte Murray, Director of Care, Health & Wellbeing at SYHA

We also heard from people that have worked with Ashiana, an organisation that supports Black, Asian, minority ethnic and refugee adults, children and young people fleeing domestic and sexual abuse. They generously shared more about their experiences – it was great to hear about what support worked well, their ideas for improving and growing our services, and about their goals for the future.

Above: Sheffield Central Councillor, Abtisam Mohamed

Globalmama provided us with a delicious lunch, and we also enjoyed a lively Zumba class with Shahina, and Sana offered our attendees beautiful henna. A huge thank you to everyone that joined us, including local Councillors Abtisam Mohamed and Nighat Basharat, and to Civica and Node4 for sponsoring the event. The event really highlighted the importance of creating, nurturing and growing great partnerships, and the dedication of local people and organisations to supporting people seeking sanctuary.

Read the report: https://www.syha.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Ending-homelessness-for-people-seeking-sanctuary-in-South-Yorkshire-FINAL.pdf

Refreshing the Homes for Cathy Commitments

Earlier this year we held a members’ meeting and strategy day at which we asked the question ‘Are the Homes for Cathy commitments still workable and relevant?’. The answer to the question was a resounding ‘yes’, with both our members and stakeholders concluding that the commitments remain as applicable now as when they were introduced in consultation with Crisis in 2018. However, feedback from attendees was that the wording of some of the commitments could be improved and additional objectives included to reflect best practice. In response, we have refreshed the commitments to incorporate the following recommendations:

If housing associations are improving on Commitment 2 around flexible allocations, Commitment 3 around solutions for people who are not eligible for an offer of a home is not needed. Commitment 3 may also duplicate the responsibilities of local authorities. Instead, the onus should be on housing associations working with their local authority partners to remove barriers to accessing housing associations properties that disadvantage some applicants.
Moreover, by monitoring refusals, housing associations can gauge their performance on Commitment 2.
The pledge under Commitment 4 to not make homeless any tenant who wants to prevent their homelessness should go hand in hand with tenancy support.
The phrase ‘vulnerable tenant groups’ in Commitment 5 is stigmatising – rather than being vulnerable, some people experiencing homelessness are disadvantaged and underserved by existing policy and practice.
Positive action is needed to address inequality, discrimination and the over-representation of minority ethnic groups in the homeless population, including migrants.
People moving from homelessness need to be able to make their property a ‘home’, rather than ‘ready to move into’ – the latter phrase is too open to interpretation.
Services and policies need to be designed in co-production with those with lived experience.

The new Homes for Cathy commitments we are proposing are:

To contribute to the development and execution of the homelessness strategies of local and combined authorities.

To work in partnership to provide a range of affordable housing options which meet the needs of all homeless people in their local communities.

To work with local authorities and others to understand and remove the barriers that disadvantage some applicants with a background of homelessness from accessing Housing Association properties.

To operate flexible allocations and eligibility policies which allow individual applicants’ unique set of circumstances and housing history to be considered and monitor refusals to benchmark performance.

To understand the inequalities that result in the over-representation of ethnic minorities among people affected by homelessness and commit to meeting the needs of ethnic minority groups, including migrants.

To not make any tenant who is engaging with their landlord homeless, by offering support to maintain at risk tenancies.

To design policies and service provision in co-production with people who have lived experience of homelessness and other stakeholders.

To ensure that new tenants moving out of homelessness have the essential furniture, flooring and other household items they need to make their property a home.

To lobby, challenge and inspire others to work to end homelessness.

We are asking our members and stakeholders to complete this survey to gather feedback on the changes to the commitments. Please complete the survey by Friday 28 July 2023.

The feedback will help us to ensure that the commitments remain a workable framework for our member housing associations to challenge themselves to do more to end homelessness and by which their Boards can hold them to account.

It’s right that the sector focuses on tenant satisfaction but where does homelessness fit in?

Leave a reply

Our Homes for Cathy panel discussion at last week’s Housing 2023 Fringe asked the question: Could an increased focus on tenant satisfaction undermine the sector’s work around homelessness?

Homes for Cathy chair David Bogle steered the discussion between expert panellists Jo Richardson, Professor of Housing & Social Inclusion at De Montfort University, CIH past president and author of the Homeful report into housing-led approaches to ending homelessness; Callum Chomczuk, National Director, CIH Scotland; and Faye Greaves, Housing Programme Manager at Crisis.

The discussion was a timely one, coinciding with news that the Social Housing Regulation Bill is set to become law after clearing both Houses. This signifies the biggest changes to social housing regulation in a decade, including the introduction of a proactive consumer regulation regime underpinned by new consumer standards.

The Regulator has already identified the themes the consumer standards are set to cover and will consult on the detail of each theme over the summer. In advance of this planned consultation, the panellists gave their views on how the standards could best meet the needs of those experiencing or at risk of homelessness and the wider system changes that are needed to put an end to homelessness.

A key area of focus for the panellists was the theme of ‘tenure’; under this theme, the Regulator has cited that landlords’ allocation process must be ‘fair, transparent and accessible to all’ and identified the importance of effective tenancy management so that ‘tenancies are sustained where appropriate’ including ‘supporting tenants, as well as working closely, and cooperating with local authorities in meeting their duties’.

Here are our five key takeaways from the discussion:

Three areas where housing associations can have an impact homelessness

There are three key areas where housing associations can have an impact on homelessness: allocations and lettings to homeless households; tenancy sustainment and avoiding evictions into homelessness. Despite constraints, the fact that some housing associations perform better than others in these areas shows that there is room for improvement.

Current tenancy standards are not sufficient

Under the existing tenancy standards, housing associations’ requirement to support local authorities in the execution of their homeless duties and to help sustain tenancies are not sufficient – we need to challenge housing associations on their nominations through homelessness channels. If housing associations can’t provide housing and support for people who can’t afford the market, who can? Unlocking access to social homes for people coming from homelessness is vital. A code of practice around housing associations’ homelessness expectations based on the Homes for Cathy commitments could be beneficial.

Processes can come before people

In an environment where resources are scarce, processes can come before people and individual inconsistencies across organisations can ‘lock people out’. Leaving the system to work itself out is not working – we need to look at ways providers can do better with regulatory accountability in the background. One example cited was affordability assessments – as tenant support needs go up and housing-related support is squeezed, these need to be used as enablers and facilitators to give tenants access to the wider support system.

Scottish RRTP example shows funding is a driver for partnership working

In Scotland Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans (RRTPs), plans developed by each of the 32 local authorities to reduce the use of temporary accommodation, have created a driver for partnership working between local authorities and registered providers. It’s proof that with political will and appropriate funding, homelessness can be alleviated (in 2019-20 the share of Scottish RP lettings to homeless households was 45%). However, both the funding and the approach need to be long-term – we don’t always need to look for ‘shiny new things’ to make a difference.

It’s a case of supply and demand

Ultimately, we need more capital investment in housing to provide more social homes – it’s a case of supply and demand. Currently we are using temporary accommodation as the default housing option. Planning applications are already substantially down year-on- year. We need housing associations to keep developing new social homes and not be creating any further development disincentives.

Written by Vicki McDonald

Vicki is the Social Impact Manager at Hightown Housing Association and leads on communications and member engagement for the Homes for Cathy campaign.

A place to call home for separated migrant children

Leave a reply

A considerable proportion of the migrants who arrive in the UK each year are ‘separated migrant children’ (SMC) – young people who reach the UK’s shores alone with no parent or guardian. According to Home Office figures, there were 5,242 asylum applications from separated migrant children in 2022, up 39% since before the pandemic, making up 7% of total applications last year.

To mark Refugee Week (19-25 June), Homes for Cathy’s communications lead Vicki McDonald spoke to Dannielle Read, Operations Manager at Hightown, a housing association which is tackling refugee homelessness through a dedicated supported housing scheme for separated migrant children (SMC).

Tell us about Hightown’s Separated Migrant Children (SMC) scheme…

We have three services in Hertfordshire that accommodate and support up to 28 separated migrant children at a time. Currently all our service users are males, however, should the need change and female bed spaces are required, we can look to adapt one of the schemes to female only, as we do not offer mixed gender services due to our service users’ cultural beliefs.

The young people we support are aged 16 and 17 and they can stay with us for a up to 24 months, although the average length of stay is 10-12 months, as a high proportion of young people enter the UK at 17 years old. We occasionally extend a young person’s stay post 18 but only for a maximum of four weeks; the most common reason for this is a lack of available move on accommodation.

In 2022-23 we supported a total of 57 young people, who had fled countries including Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Chad, Iran and Iraq to find safety.

Dannielle Read, Hightown Operations Manager, oversees a specialist scheme for separated migrant children

How are young people referred to the service?

Each local authority with a children’s service is part of the UK’s dispersal programme to accommodate separated migrant children – the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) – which was introduced in 2016 and made mandatory in 2021. Local authorities have a 0.1% threshold for SMC referrals, based on their total child population. The referral process is now well-established, so when a separated migrant child spontaneously arrives in a local authority, they can refer them to another authority if they have exceeded their own threshold.

In Hertfordshire, where Hightown’s SMC scheme operates, the county council works with organisations such as ours to ensure that suitable accommodation is provided throughout the whole local authority area. Since Spring 2021, the number of young people accommodate in Hertfordshire has almost doubled, from 80 to 151 by December 2022.

Separated migrant children under 18 are treated as children in need, with the same rights and entitlements as other young people to education, training and employment training opportunities.

Hightown operates three supported housing schemes in Hertfordshire for young asylum seekers

What type of support do you provide?

Many of the young people who are in our services have come from hugely different backgrounds and cultural ‘norms’, so it is important for our support team to help them develop an understanding of the local culture, whilst still embracing their own cultural background. For example, some young people come from a home where they cook their food on open fires with limited cooking appliances – our staff show them how to safely use an oven and hob.

In addition to teaching daily living skills, we also support service users to access education – including ESOL classes – and healthcare, assist them with their Home Office asylum applications and help them with their cultural and wellbeing needs and integration into the local community.

What are the main challenges and barriers separated migrant children must overcome as they start life in the UK?

Many of the young people who arrive with us have endured terrible trauma in their home country, including torture, sexual violence, loved ones killed and homes destroyed, and the impact of these harrowing experiences cannot be underestimated.

Many have taken perilous journeys of up to two years to reach the UK, often living in precarious and hostile situations with no contact with the family from which they have been separated. Some of the young people that come to us seek support from the British Red Cross who help find lost family members – sadly, some never have that contact again. Understandably, growing up without the crucial bond of a family has a detrimental effect on their psychological wellbeing and ability to adjust to life in the UK.

The challenges faced by our service users are not only emotional – there are also many practical difficulties to overcome, including the language barrier. One of the hardest challenges is the lengthy and complicated process of applying for asylum. Almost a third of the young people in our care do not get a decision on their asylum application until after they have turned 18, which means they are unable to access supported accommodation. Whilst these young people are no longer categorised as ‘looked after children’, the local authority still has a duty to house and support them financially whilst their applications are being assessed. This can be quite challenging for some young people, as they must live with the uncertainty.

Each young person joins us with varying needs, so we use a person-centred psychologically informed approach to put the correct support in place. Most importantly, we go the extra mile to build each young person’s trust and are committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment in which they can begin to recover. We have seen the lives of many young people transformed as a result.

Homes for Cathy founding member Hightown Housing Association is a charitable housing association operating in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire which owns and manages over 8,000 homes and runs 89 care and supported housing schemes, including services for young people and adults experiencing homelessness.