Category Archives: Best practice articles

Hackney protocol boosts partnership working to tackle domestic abuse related homelessness 

Research from the domestic abuse charity, Refuge, shows that 40% of women who are homeless say domestic abuse was a contributory factor to their homelessness.  Official statistics reflect this; of the 178,560 households owed a homelessness relief duty in 2023/24, 27,760 (16%) cited domestic abuse as the reason for the loss of their last settled home.   

With the inextricable link between domestic abuse and housing putting social landlords front and centre in preventing the potential homelessness of survivors, strong partnerships between local authorities and housing associations are proving critical in achieving positive outcomes.   

More and more local authorities are seeking to formalise domestic abuse best practice with the housing associations in their areas, including the London Borough of Hackney, which in March 2024 launched a new Hackney Social Landlords Domestic Abuse Protocol with local housing providers to support residents experiencing domestic abuse to stay in their homes. This is the first policy of its kind in the UK, which incorporates a set of standards and guidelines to help social landlords safeguard victims and survivors. 

Eleonora Serafini, a Domestic Abuse and Housing Specialist from the London Borough of Hackney explains, “The idea of the protocol was established by the Council’s Domestic Abuse Intervention Service (DAIS) in collaboration with the Council’s Housing Services and Benefits and Homelessness Prevention Services, with a view to boosting collaboration and adopting best practice across the social housing sector and to provide a consistent approach in the area.”   

The protocol sets out tangible and practical interventions

The protocol was developed in consultation with Hackney’s Social Landlords Domestic Abuse Forum which the DAIS created and chairs and which is formed of local social housing providers and the council. It includes standards and guidance to help landlords provide safeguarding for victims and survivors of domestic abuse to prevent homelessness. The protocol sets out measures including tangible and practical interventions such as improvements to the security of properties to supporting property exchanges, at times outside of the current area, to ensure future safety and wellbeing.  

Councillor Susan Fajana-Thomas OBE, Cabinet Lead for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, says, “No one should have to face becoming homeless to escape domestic abuse. We know that it’s highly disruptive to the lives of the victims and that it also isn’t an efficient way of managing our already stretched housing resources.”  

Holding perpetrators accountable

The protocol seeks to put into practice an approach aimed at enabling victims / survivors to remain safely in their own homes by holding perpetrators accountable through setting out appropriate actions to be taken, for example supporting survivors to apply for non-molestation and occupation orders. Other actions include seeking ASB injunctions, making third party reports to the police and supporting the police in evidence gathering, taking legal action to end the perpetrator’s tenancy and supporting perpetrators to access behaviour change interventions.    

Eleonora adds, “The protocol aims to act on and prevent homelessness and provide a robust approach to case work. As part of the Council’s commitment, we offer social landlords free training in domestic abuse for their staff as well as on-going support, if needed, in developing individual internal policy.”  

Social landlords domestic abuse forum

Nearly a year on, 16 social landlords active in the London Borough of Hackney have signed up and are committed to the protocol. The Social Landlords Domestic Abuse Forum continues to meet three times a year and remains focused on domestic violence. They aim to collect and share data annually to monitor trends in domestic abuse and its link to housing.  

Isabelle Hilliard, Community Safet Lead from Gateway Housing, who are one of the local social housing providers that have committed to the protocol commented, “At Gateway Housing, we are committed to ensuring that all residents have the safe home environment they deserve. Joining the Hackney Social Landlords Domestic Abuse Protocol allows us to tackle domestic abuse in a coordinated and compassionate way. By working closely with our local partners, we are strengthening our support for victims and ensuring that every resident receives the prompt and effective assistance they need. This partnership plays a crucial role in helping us create a safer, more supportive community for all.” 

Lara Brading, Domestic Abuse Specialist from L&Q adds, “Effective partnership working is vital in ensuring the best outcomes for people experiencing domestic abuse, which is why we are proud to be part of the Hackney Social Landlords Domestic Abuse Protocol and look forward to strengthening our response to domestic abuse together.” 

Eleonora concludes, “Already we have seen an improvement in social landlords’ engagement with the local MARAC (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference) and a boost to risk management through collaborative working. The protocol also gives an opportunity for smaller providers to follow best practice and ensure social landlords are aware of local domestic abuse and safeguarding pathways. Feedback from providers is really positive in helping them be part of a whole-system approach to harm reduction and risk management.”  

Hackney Council is collaborating with other London based authorities who are interested in replicating the protocol. 

The local Housing First scheme supporting high needs individuals in Hertfordshire

Experts agree that Housing First has a crucial role to play in ending homelessness. The model, which works by offering immediate housing to high need rough sleepers alongside intensive ‘no strings’ support, has been piloted in Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands since 2018 with positive results; according to the Government’s final evaluation of the pilots, the vast majority of clients were in long-term accommodation a year after entering Housing First, reporting significantly improved outcomes across a range of measures.

Beyond the three big city pilots, more than 100 local level Housing First schemes have been established; spanning nearly every region, these schemes have supported around 2,000 individuals* to end the vicious cycle of homelessness. One such scheme, operated by Homes for Cathy member Hightown, currently houses 15 clients across two local authority areas. Homes for Cathy spoke to Hightown Head of Care & Supported Housing (Homelessness & Mental Health), Spiros Georgiou, to learn more about the practicalities of the scheme and its successes and challenges.

How does Hightown’s Housing First scheme operate?

Unlike traditional homelessness support models, Housing First does not require clients to engage with services or demonstrate readiness before securing housing. This unconditional approach ensures that individuals with complex needs, who might struggle with engagement in other settings, have the stability necessary to access support at their own pace.

Our Housing First scheme is run in partnership with Dacorum Borough Council and St Albans City and District Council, with Rough Sleeper Initiative funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. All three organisations supply properties and housing management for the service, with Hightown delivering the entire support element.

We collaborate closely with each council to identify rough sleepers and prioritise property allocation. In St Albans, a specialist rough sleeper worker works with the council’s allocations team to make referrals into Housing First, while in Dacorum, referrals come from the council and Hightown. Potential clients are assessed using a scoring system based on vulnerability factors. Our Housing First coordinators ensure that properties align with clients’ specific needs, such as accessibility features and proximity to essential services.

Since the inception of the project in 2020, 15 clients have been housed, with an additional eight clients awaiting housing, reflecting the ongoing demand for a Housing First service in the local area.

What have been the key outcomes and successes of the scheme?

In terms of tenancy sustainment, the scheme has been extremely successful in supporting clients to maintain stable housing, with 93.3% of clients maintaining their tenancy since moving in. The longest sustained tenancy has been 4 years, 11 months, and 12 days*. The tenant is a perfect example of the difference Housing First can make to people with complex histories and needs. A former care leaver and victim of county lines exploitation and modern-day slavery, they had a history of offending and rough sleeping. Their journey has not been without hurdles and has included struggles with antisocial behaviour and multiple police interactions, leading to a notice seeking possession. However, with legal support and Housing First advocacy, their appeal was upheld, and they have been able to maintain their tenancy.

Another positive is that the average rent arrears rate among our Housing First clients is very close to that of our general needs tenants, at 4.98% compared to 4.43%. This demonstrates that, despite often facing more complex personal challenges, Housing First tenants are just as capable of sustaining their tenancies as those in standard housing arrangements.

A key factor in achieving this financial stability is the structured financial support mechanisms integrated into the Housing First approach. Many clients have repayment plans in place, ensuring that arrears do not escalate to unmanageable levels. These plans, combined with tailored support such as budgeting assistance, benefits guidance, and crisis intervention, empower individuals to regain control of their finances. This data challenges the misconception that individuals with a history of homelessness are inherently unable to manage housing costs. Instead, it underscores the importance of providing not just a home but also the necessary wraparound support to help individuals maintain it successfully.

While tenancy sustainment is a key indicator of the success of the scheme, so is positive engagement with mental and physical health services, as well as drug and alcohol support. Our Housing First coordinators assist in making appointments, provide reminders and accompany clients when needed. Multi-agency meetings ensure that clients receive comprehensive support. We have recently adopted the Team Around Me (TAM) approach to enhance multi-agency collaboration and ensure clients are at the centre of their own support. We have been fortunate in that Hertfordshire County Council has provided free training on the approach for all our managers.

TAM has been designed specifically for people experiencing multiple disadvantage – a combination of problems such as homelessness, substance abuse and mental ill health that are co-occurring and mutually reinforcing. People in this situation often have many different professionals involved in their support. Not only can this be confusing for the individual, but it can also mean that interventions duplicate each other or not happen at all. The TAM approach ensures every multi-agency meeting we have is clear, consistent and co-produced, as well as strengths based and trauma informed.

In terms of harm reduction, positively, we’ve seen a decline in police interactions over time, as clients adjust to stable housing. While substance misuse remains an ongoing challenge, engagement with support services such as CGL (Change, Grow, Live) is high. Meanwhile, several of our Housing First clients have engaged with productive activities such as volunteering and participating in peer support programmes and training.

How does Hightown ensure effective joint working between Housing First coordinators and other teams within the organisation?

In terms of our own property allocations for potential new Housing First clients, we hold weekly meetings with our voids manager to help streamline the process. For Housing First clients housed by Hightown, tenancy-related issues such as sign-up, arrears and ASB are handled by a housing officer who sits within our care and supported housing team and therefore understands the particular needs and challenges of this client group. At the same time, our Housing First coordinators educate colleagues within the organisation – including our repairs operatives and income recovery officers – on Housing First principles so that everyone has realistic expectations.

What challenges have you encountered in operating the service?

A shortage of suitable one-bedroom properties and a lack of affordable rental options remain key challenges in expanding Housing First in St Albans and Dacorum. Incentives for private landlords, coupled with an increase in social housing allocations for Housing First clients, could help alleviate these barriers.

Funding limitations are always going to be a challenging factor and have limited the number of clients who can be supported. On a positive note, we are currently negotiating extra funding to increase the support team by an additional worker. However, one of the biggest challenges for Housing First right now is the reduced support from outside agencies, especially with some drug and alcohol services. When Housing First started, all clients were automatically included in Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings, and they would stay on the MDT caseload for as long as they were part of the Housing First programme. This meant they had ongoing access to specialist support for substance use, no matter how their situation changed.

Unfortunately, budget cuts have changed that. Some drug and alcohol services can now only work with people who are street homeless or at immediate risk of losing their tenancy. This means that once a Housing First client is housed and no longer seen as being in immediate crisis, they often lose access to the very support they still need. This is a real problem because addiction recovery isn’t a straight path – it takes time, setbacks happen, and long-term support makes a huge difference. Just because someone has a home doesn’t mean their struggles with substance use disappear. Without that specialist support in place, some people are at higher risk of relapse, which could put their tenancy at risk and lead them right back to square one.

Losing this level of support also puts extra pressure on Hightown’s Housing First coordinators, who do their best but aren’t addiction specialists. While they can offer help in other ways, they rely on external services to provide expert drug and alcohol support. Without that partnership, clients miss out on the right kind of intervention at the right time.

Finally, what are your key asks of government and policy makers to ensure Housing First schemes like Hightown’s are sustainable?

The government must commit to at least five years of ring-fenced funding, ensuring continuity of service and staffing stability. We also need more affordable housing to reduce waiting times for Housing First clients. Enhanced multi-agency support is also key – going forward, we will keep pushing for stronger partnerships with local drug and alcohol services and looking at new ways to make sure clients don’t lose support just because they have a roof over their head. Housing First isn’t just about keeping people housed – it’s about helping them rebuild their lives.

*The picture of Housing First in England 2020, Homelesslink

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. 

Preventing the cycle of repeat homelessness for ex-offenders

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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 25th 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

A place to call home for separated migrant children

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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.

Culture shift key to homelessness prevention

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A founding member of the Homes for Cathy group, Broadland adopted the Homes for Cathy commitments in 2018, with backing from its Board.  Homes for Cathy spoke to Broadland’s senior local delivery manager, Katie Docherty, to explore how the commitments have driven a culture shift in its housing operations.   

The Homes for Cathy commitments to end homelessness touch on every aspect of housing associations’ work, not just Care & Supported Housing. How did the adopting the commitments impact on your general needs housing operations?

The wording of Commitment 4 – “to not make any tenant seeking to prevent their homelessness, homeless” – was important and one of the most controversial areas for us when we became part of Homes for Cathy.  Without the threat of eviction, would tenants pay their rent?

Our intention was to flip things on their head, so that in situations where tenants wanted to prevent their homelessness, and we were doing everything we could around rent arrears, eviction would not be the end goal.  Instead, our aim was around tenancy sustainment, thereby avoiding all the costs of eviction and all the staff input required in terms of having to go to court. 

We wanted to use that staff input in a more positive way, by supporting tenants to use resources such as our welfare benefits advisor and tenancy support team, and to work with our income officers around budgeting.  We now advise tenants that, if they are covering their full rent, we won’t let their arrears increase and we agree a plan for them to pay off the arrears in instalments, an approach which has worked well. 

Thinking of the person has become the centre of the ‘process’; rather than contacting tenants to threaten eviction for arrears, we surveyed them to find out how they were feeling, what triggered them around their rent arrears.  Training around nudge theory helped us better understand what it meant to receive a brown envelope through the post and the impact of the wording of arrears letters.  

We also looked at case studies which had gone to eviction and used empathy maps to explore the touchpoints where tenants had contacted us, what that experience had been like, what that person would have felt on receiving their first letter about rent arrears and on receiving a final warning letter, what the outside factors would have been.  This helped give us a complete picture of why someone wouldn’t pay their rent. 

Our understanding of the drivers behind rent arrears was also backed up in data; we used the business intelligence platform Power BI to look at the demographics of people who were in rent arrears – including age, ethnic origin, disabilities such as mental health, children or no children, working or not – cross-referencing this with who was most likely not to be able to pay their rent, and who was most likely not to pay their rent at certain times, such as Christmas.  Armed with that data, we were able to plan targeted ‘preventative’ communications before tenants had even got into rent arrears.  For example, we had historical cases who had always missed payments in December or January, so would make a phone call in November to see how they were planning to pay their rent. 

It was a massive culture shift away from the whole process of warning letters and pre-court protocol that was so set in colleagues’ minds as how rent is collected.  It’s all about looking at the whole person.  Fortunately, this culture change coincided with Broadland creating a specialist income team separate to neighbourhood management, which really helped give them a sense of direction. 

Ultimately it costs a lot to evict someone, not to mention the ongoing voids costs of an empty property.  We calculated that the average cost of an eviction is between £8,500 and £11,900.  Since 2018, we have reduced evictions for rent arrears from 18 households to three households, in both 2019/20 and 2020/21, making annual savings of between £75,000 and £178,000.  Over the same period, we have sustained our level of arrears.

How has your approach to tenancy sustainment changed over time?

Rather than working towards eviction, our ethos is let’s work to get this person to stay in their tenancy and how can we achieve that?  The more we have built relationships with tenants, the easier it has become, because we have got to know the people who we need to contact and the people who just need an occasional check in by text. 

We’re having conversations every day with people; our rent officers have the freedom to say ‘What’s going on here?  Your home is the basis for everything, let’s try to figure out why you’re behind on your rent and is there anything we can do to help you find ways to budget so that you can pay your rent’.  At the end of the day, there’s not a high percentage of people who wake up in the morning and say I don’t care about paying my rent and I don’t want to live here anyway.

In terms of staff turnover, how do you ensure that person-centred culture remains embedded at Broadland?

We’ve had new staff members who have found the approach alien, but they can still see the benefits.  The income team has a great culture and a team leader who believes in our ethos and wants to achieve the commitment around not making tenants homeless who want to prevent their homelessness, which is important.  The team also has regular meetings where they support each other, and this helps to keep that consistency and belief in what they’re trying to achieve alive.  Our welfare benefits officer sits within the income team so he’s also part of that solution. 

What has been the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on how you engage with tenants?

Times are very difficult; people are choosing between heating and eating.  For us, it’s about re-examining the data, identifying those tenants on the lowest incomes or who are on the borderline, perhaps working a few hours but still receiving some housing costs, who therefore don’t have access to other grants and benefits, and working proactively with them. 

Commitment 2 is about flexible allocations and eligibility policies that allow individual applicants’ circumstances and history to be considered.  What changes has Broadland implemented to deliver this?

Essentially, the view at Broadland is that if the person can’t afford social housing rent, they’re not going to be able to afford to rent anywhere else, so we don’t turn anyone down based on affordability.  However, we still carry out an income and expenditure check with applicants.  If their projected expenditure is minus disposable income, the applicant will be referred to a team leader, so the appropriate support can be put in place. 

For example, Broadland has a welfare benefits advisor and tenancy support team to which applicants are referred if we consider they’re not maximising the welfare payments they are entitled to.  If the applicant is already receiving the benefits they’re eligible for, we will then go through the tenancy support route to explore if it’s a budgeting matter or if the team can gain access to any other support. 

We have a very low refusal rate for applicants; we had three refusals in total last year.  Typically, refusals will be around anti-social behaviour – for example if the area has suffered anti-social behaviour, we might choose not to house someone there who has a history of ASB.

By carrying out an affordability assessment, we can discuss budgeting and ask open-ended questions to establish any other support needs.  For example, if the applicant has just moved into the area, our neighbourhood officers might put them in touch with Men’s Sheds or the Norwich City community football scheme.  We want to make new tenants aware that we’re not just a bricks and mortar housing association there to collect rent – we’re part of the community and we have a wider offer.  A lot of this is done as part of a four week visit or call, so new tenants have had time to settle in.

How does Broadland approach Commitment 7 ‘To ensure that properties offered to homeless people should be ready to move into’?

We identified that there are some great grant schemes and charities out there who will give white goods – nine times out of ten we are able to source a fridge or a cooker for a tenant.  My view is that one of the key things that makes a property feel like a home are curtains or blinds at the windows rather than big bags or duvets – it helps tenants feel safe and secure, gives them privacy and means there’s no outward sign for neighbours to make a judgement, so they begin their tenancy feeling like they are part of the community. 

Unfortunately, there aren’t many grants available for curtains and blinds.  It’s the same for carpets – if you just have concrete on your floor or bits of carpet or a rug here and there, it’s not homely.  It’s those day-to-day things that can chip away at someone on top of all the other pressures that they might already have and can have a big impact.  We therefore have a specific budget set aside for Commitment 7 and we tend to use it for curtains and flooring to make the property feel like a home.  We don’t have an application form for this; it’s used specifically for tenants who have come from a homelessness background, which is the only criteria, whether it be a hostel, temporary accommodation or rough sleeping. 

We also try to ensure flooring and carpets are fitted before the tenant moves in, so the property feels like home from the beginning.  We probably do one of these a month when it feels like it’s needed.  It’s a relatively small budget but it does mean a lot to the people concerned.

Tackling homelessness has been part of Broadland Housing’s DNA since the association formed in 1963, around the time of the TV film Cathy Come Home.  Today Broadland provides more than 5,000 quality homes across Norfolk and north Suffolk, including sheltered housing and housing with care homes.

Making a property feel like a home for new tenants

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Homes for Cathy Commitment 7 is to ‘ensure that properties offered to homeless people should be ready to move into’, a pledge that recognises that a home is not just bricks and mortar, but a place of comfort and safety where people who have experienced homelessness can thrive.  Homes for Cathy spoke to Sanctuary Operations Manager, Ben Tranter and Neighbourhood Partnership Manager, Melanie King, to find out about the housing association’s innovative ‘Welcome Home’ project, which is part of its wider ‘customer-first’ approach. The project provides new tenants with an Argos voucher up to the value of £500, ensuring customers start a tenancy with the household essentials they need to make a property feel like home. 

How did the Welcome Home scheme come about?

MK: I come from a housing background and was a housing officer for 17 years.  We’ve all experienced signing up a new customer and standing with them in an empty property and all they have is a carrier bag full of possessions.  For me and my colleague who developed the scheme, it was something very close to our hearts, as we had seen people come to us in that situation, who had previously been homeless or fled domestic violence with nothing. 

In setting up the scheme, we wanted to be able to provide new customers moving into a Sanctuary property with the household items they need in the first week of their tenancy.  We ran an initial pilot with Argos, whereby we offered people a pack of furniture and other items we thought they would need to start their tenancy, such as bedding, towels, a microwave, kettle, toaster, crockery and cutlery, a microwave cooking set, rubbish bin and a bucket and mop.  However, we found there were always items that weren’t in stock or had to be collected in store, which proved difficult for people without a car.

We learned from that initial pilot and decided that we should give new customers the choice of what they want to buy and what they feel is important for them to be able to move into their property.  We now provide an Argos voucher on the day a new customer signs up and it’s up to them how they spend it. Currently, we offer £400 of vouchers for a single person, £450 for a couple and £500 for a family.

BT: It’s about the principle of trusting customers to know what it is they need, rather than us telling them what they need.  It also gives us flexibility in that we can use the voucher scheme in combination with other services that are already out there, such as charities and other support mechanisms.  Colleagues also have access to our own interactive map of the external support services across our localities, which they can signpost customers to.

How are new tenants referred to the scheme?

BT: It starts at the point of the tenancy offer, when our lettings officers will have an initial conversation with customers to find out more about the situation they have come from and what they are bringing with them in terms of furniture and household items.  If a lettings officer has concerns that a new customer may be moving in with nothing and has no facility to get anything, they will then refer to the relevant housing officer.  During the property viewing, the housing officer will have a secondary conversation to understand what the customer will be moving in with and will decide whether they need the support of the voucher scheme.  It’s very much a feeling and a conversation.

MK: It’s very flexible – ultimately, we’re giving our housing officers another tool in their toolkit to support new customers to succeed in their tenancy.

How is the scheme funded?

BT: Our procurement colleagues and social value development officer have worked hard to develop relationships with suppliers to ensure we can build social value into contracts, and we were fortunate that one of our big supply chain partners agreed to wholly fund the scheme.  We have secured a pot of funding for the initial scheme but we’re hopeful that if we can demonstrate that there is an ongoing need and that the scheme is making a difference, we’ll be able to convince our supplier to continue to support it.

MK: We know that many of our suppliers have their own charitable objectives but are not always able to support a charity themselves, as they’re not operating in the right arena.  Partnering with an organisation like Sanctuary – where we have access to different types of services and skills – means they can find projects that have a good fit with their organisation and allow them to fulfil their charitable aims.  We’re also fortunate in that Sanctuary is keen to support innovation and encourages colleagues to use their initiative to develop projects such as this. 

What are the benefits of the scheme in terms of tenancy sustainment?

MK: Customers coming from a homelessness situation or sofa surfing can have a lot of other issues going on, and sometimes can sign up for a property and not move in.  With the Welcome Home scheme, we can offer people a home rather than a house; not only does it mean there’s one less thing for new customers to worry about, but it also helps reduce the likelihood of abandonments and the costs and issues associated with void properties. 

More importantly, the scheme helps us to make a connection and build a positive relationship with customers, which makes it far easier for them to approach us if they have a problem in the future, for example with their rent.

BT: It’s about the customer having confidence and trust in us.  As a landlord, we’re often seen as an authority figure, particularly by customers who have been street homeless; sometimes this can scare them, and they can pull away.  The scheme breaks down those barriers and helps them understand that we’re here to support them. This is more vital than ever as, sadly, we are seeing more and more people in need of support due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

Sanctuary owns and manages more than 116,000 homes, making it one of the largest housing associations in the country. A not-for-profit housing association, its mission is to build affordable homes and sustainable communities where people choose to live.

Innovation in tenancy sustainment: how Bournville Village Trust has improved engagement with residents

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A robust tenancy sustainment service is vital for housing associations seeking to avoid evictions and the potential homelessness that can occur for tenants as a result. 

The Covid pandemic was a catalyst for change in the way that the housing sector supported tenancy sustainment; many Homes for Cathy members have used the lessons learned during the pandemic to their advantage, adopting new ways of working to help tenants thrive in their homes.  Homes for Cathy spoke to Bournville Village Trust’s (BVT) Income Services Manager, Gareth Sinnett, to explore how its Well Winter campaign has influenced the association’s tenancy sustainment work.

What was the impetus behind the launch of the Well Winter campaign?

The initial driver was a response to the impact of Covid; at the time, many of our residents were experiencing unemployment or accessing furlough and we wanted to find a practical, financial response to help them through any short-term financial pressures.  While rent collection was a factor, encouraging residents to prioritise their rent went hand in hand with helping them in other areas, such as food vouchers and energy costs.

Unfortunately, the financial pressures that arose off the back of Covid haven’t relented.  If anything, the situation has got worse; the support packages that were in place during that time have been withdrawn, including the £20 Universal Credit uplift, and we’re now facing high inflation and a major rise in the cost of living, which makes having a package like Well Winter even more important. 

When residents are living hand to mouth and can’t see where their next meal is coming from, the ability to give that direct support makes a huge difference.  It has also benefited our relationship with them; whilst we always provided additional financial support through provision of white goods and home essentials through a tenant support fund, we had not previously directly issued food and fuel vouchers to our tenants before we launched the campaign.

Has the campaign helped improve resident engagement?

Definitely – one of the most challenging parts of our role is to encourage residents to contact us when they foresee an issue with their rent.  The biggest positive from the Well Winter campaign has been in developing that relationship further, to improve the trust between us.  They understand that we’re not here just to enforce rent collection or issue letters, we’re genuinely here to help them thrive in their tenancies.

Historically, we haven’t had always engaged in the same way with residents who aren’t in arrears; the campaign has helped us understand that there are many residents who pay their rent and don’t ever reach out to us, even when they are in financial difficulty.

Residents self-refer for Well Winter funding via an online application form and once they have contacted us, we’re able to have conversations about where they’re struggling and whether we can offer them financial support or refer them elsewhere.  In this way, we’re able to tackle any underlying issues before residents start falling behind on their rent.  Ultimately, it’s far easier to resolve rent arrears before they occur. 

Have you seen a large rise in the number of residents requiring tenancy support?

Caseload numbers ramped up during Covid and have remained high ever since.  However, more notably, the work we have had to put in to get the same results has gone up exponentially.  Not only has the complexity of the cases increased, but we’ve also adopted a more holistic approach to resolving some of our residents’ underlying issues, which takes time, energy and effort.  Meanwhile, with the cost of living increasing, there is a lot more pressure on us as a social landlord to keep our homes occupied and support tenants to sustain their tenancies where previously residents may have been able to access additional support in other ways.

Has your approach to tenancy sustainment helped reduce evictions?

We always promote engagement over enforcement, so if a resident is able to engage and work with us, we will work with them to potentially prevent any enforcement action.  Evictions are always a last resort; any eviction is effectively a failure for us as much as it is for the resident, so we try to exhaust every avenue, for example accessing Birmingham City Council’s homelessness prevention fund to reduce or clear debt on a resident’s account.  In this way we’ve been able to keep evictions down to a minimum – just two in the past 12 months. 

What tenancy support do you provide for new residents, for example those moving away from a situation of homelessness?

All new tenants will go through a financial assessment; this is about working with them to ensure that the tenancy is sustainable. This is supported though our financial inclusion team who will help them to maximise their benefits or seek additional financial support.  The focus here is on providing that support from the very start. For new residents, we can offer support through our community fund for things like furniture and white goods, which are typically higher expenditures at the start of a tenancy and can lead to added financial pressures for tenants who have just moved into a property. All new tenants also receive a decorating voucher of up to £300 when they first move in to support them in making it their home. It’s about making sure that new residents can sustain that tenancy.

How do you engage with your more vulnerable residents and what support do you offer?

Encouraging engagement with vulnerable customers is key to good housing management.  At BVT, we take our role very seriously and our entire front-line services are encouraged to work collaboratively to support our most vulnerable customers to sustain their tenancies.  We also keep a record of our most vulnerable customers and can offer tailored support depending on their circumstances.  Our income and housing management teams are skilled and knowledgeable and work together closely to case manage vulnerable residents’ ability to manage their rent account and sustain their tenancy, resolving any issues that arise.  For example, we can refer to our Money Matters financial inclusion team who offer targeted support and advice around benefits and welfare payments. 

We have also appointed an energy advisor in the past 12 months, a fixed term role funded through the Energy Redress Scheme, an initiative which supports vulnerable energy consumers by distributing voluntary payments made by energy companies that have breached Ofgem regulations.  The advisor offers direct support to our residents on reducing their energy costs, for example by managing their boiler, radiators and thermostat, as well as advocating for residents in situations where they may have been overcharged by energy companies.

What advice would you give to other housing associations looking to enhance their tenancy sustainment offering?

At BVT, we’ve always prided ourselves on a tenant first approach but having the ability to offer the additional support of food vouchers or help with energy costs through the Well Winter campaign means that we can have a very different conversation with residents.  Residents understand that they can speak to us and it’s really helped with engagement and building relationships.  The real jewel in the crown has been that building trust and understanding with residents has gone a long way to achieving earlier intervention and ultimately managing rent accounts on a much lower level.  Overall, it’s been a real success. 

Bournville Village Trust (BVT) is a values-led charitable trust working to create and sustain communities where people can thrive.  A registered social housing provider, BVT delivers a range of services across more than a dozen diverse and distinctive communities in Birmingham and Telford.

Meeting the needs of customers affected by domestic abuse

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To mark No More Week (5-12 March 2023), a national awareness campaign focused on domestic abuse, Hightown’s Housing Team Area Manager Kerry Hames explains the association’s approach to supporting those affected and preventing the homelessness that can often occur as a result.

Why is it important for housing associations like Hightown to have an effective response to domestic abuse?

We know that many victims face homelessness when they flee abusive homes; for example, research from the charity SafeLives revealed that 32% of homeless women said that domestic abuse contributed to their homelessness.  The same research showed that over half of domestic abuse victims/survivors need support to help them stay in their homes.

As a founding member of Homes for Cathy, an alliance of housing associations dedicated to ending homelessness, Hightown is committed to meeting the needs of tenants who want to prevent their own potential homelessness, and this includes domestic abuse victims/survivors.  Moreover, we have a safeguarding responsibility for all our tenants, so it’s important we have effective measures in place to avoid any delays in responding to and supporting those affected.  

As a housing association, we’re uniquely placed to identify domestic abuse and support people, due to nature of our relationship with tenants.  When we receive reports of domestic abuse incidents, our housing teams pull together so tenants can receive timely and consistent assistance, information and advice.  We’ve also trained our front-line staff to be able to spot the signs of abuse, which is vital as not all tenants come forward to report it themselves.

What training do Hightown staff receive in order to be able to respond to reports of domestic abuse?

We’ve worked with an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) from the charity Refuge, a role funded by Hertfordshire County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner, who is co-located at our offices and is responsible for carrying out risk and needs assessments, safety planning and providing short-term support and intervention to victims.  The IDVA has organised training sessions for staff to ensure their knowledge of domestic abuse is up to date, and offers advice, guidance and assistance with referrals to the Hertfordshire County Council IDVA service.

At Hightown, we also have a domestic abuse lead housing officer who provides guidance for staff in relation to housing management cases.  They are also a domestic abuse champion for the entire organisation and trained in multiple aspects of domestic abuse, including the DASH risk assessment model, MODUS case management software and MARAC.  A MARAC is a multi-agency risk assessment conference, which takes place on the highest risk domestic abuse cases.  This information is shared with external agencies like local police, health, child protection, housing practitioners, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), probation and other specialists from the statutory and voluntary sectors.

We recognise that our own staff may experience domestic abuse, so we also have a lead for supporting staff who make a disclosure, as well as offering a domestic abuse e-learning module for managers. 

What measures does Hightown take to identify and support domestic abuse victims who do not come forward themselves? 

As a landlord, we are well positioned to identify potential cases of domestic abuse in a tenancy, using both the information we hold about that tenancy and our own professional curiosity to identify situations which require a closer look.

For example, we train our staff in our Asset Management team to look out for signs that can be spotted when they are inside a customer’s home, or when receiving reports about repairs.  This could include a customer with visible injuries or who is being shouted at by their partner; repeat repairs such as a bathroom lock or bedroom door; or signs of physical damage to the property, such as holes in walls or damage to furniture and appliances.  Often it can be a general sense that something isn’t quite right.

This ‘setting the scene’ is not just limited to a customer’s home; we know that domestic abuse victims/survivors  are four times more likely to be in rent arrears compared to the general population.  After a domestic abuse incident, a victim/survivor is likely to go into arrears and if they are already in arrears, the arrears increase and continue to increase.  It can often be disguised, so it’s crucial to listen to what is being said and, again, have that professional curiosity.

We may also identify domestic abuse through reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) from neighbours.  We therefore check all the relevant information (and that of partners) to build a picture of what is happening before approaching customers and we always consider domestic abuse as a factor.  We do not treat suspected cases of domestic abuse as ASB as this could penalise the victim/survivor or prevent them from seeking help.

With domestic abuse a major factor in homelessness, particularly among women, how do you support survivors to remain in their home or leave a tenancy?

The reality is that women – and their children – need safe and suitable housing options to escape and recover from violence and abuse.  As a housing association, we signpost our customers to sources of guidance and advice, such as SafeLives, The National Centre for Domestic Violence, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline and Women’s Aid.  We work with external agencies to provide support to customers who want to remain in their homes and, where a customer needs to move, we liaise closely with our local authority partners to overcome any barriers and ensure that the customer is placed in a safe place, for example a refuge, until a move to a more suitable property becomes available.  Reciprocal move arrangements with other providers, such as the one Hightown has in place with Buckinghamshire Council, can really help in situations where customers want to re-locate to another area.

Hightown is a charitable housing association (operating in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire) aiming to help people who need support and care or who cannot afford to buy or rent a home at market values. 

We strive to support every victim in the way that is right for them

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Karolyn Barta, Group Community Safety Manager at Homes for Cathy member Abri, explains its person-centred approach to supporting domestic abuse victims and how its ‘See Something, Say Something’ process is encouraging disclosures from colleagues across the organisation.

As a social landlord, we’re really pleased to confirm that we have a dedicated team of Community Safety Officers, that are trained to support all disclosures of domestic abuse (DA) from either our customers or colleagues alike. We’re aware that one in four women and one in six men will experience DA at some point in their life and as a housing provider, and an employer, we’re uniquely placed to deal with a disclosure both sensitively and with knowledge.

A perpetrator may use a tenancy agreement as an extension of control

It’s very apparent that a perpetrator of DA may use a tenancy agreement as an extension of control over a victim, and many victims will unfortunately find themselves having to choose either homelessness or staying in an abusive relationship. At Abri, we work very closely with our local authority (LA) providers to support victims as best we can and this could include management moves but also offering target hardening (to make a property safer) should an LA nominate someone fleeing abuse to one of our properties.

At Abri, we regularly raise awareness of DA to our customers via social media, our website and through customer newsletters. The Community Safety Team made a pledge to put our customers at the heart of any decision-making, as we strive to support every victim in the way that is right for them. Support may include completing risk assessments, offering target hardening (which could include supplying addition bolts, window or personal alarms, security lighting to name a few), discussing housing options, working with partner agencies such as the police, fire service, DA support workers, the LA and attending multi-agency meetings, sometimes known as MARAC.

Concerns by colleagues are reported through to a specific number

As a landlord, we know that we have an opportunity to carry out home visits for any number of reasons. We have developed a process called ‘See Something, Say Something’ where any concerns by colleagues are reported through to a specific number and triaged to the appropriate team, which at times, might mean coming through to Community Safety. One of our officers will then complete a desktop review to establish if there has been a history of DA and may make contact with the customer, if it’s safe to do so, to offer further support. Even if there hasn’t been a history of DA, we may still visit the customer, using a different reason for the home visit, as this may then lead to a victim feeling able to share their experience with us. Although we would never pressure a victim to make a disclosure to us, we have a duty to report any concerns in order to safeguard an individual or other people. In doing this, we always put the person at the centre of those referrals and with consent wherever possible.

Throughout the various lockdowns, and challenges that we faced during the pandemic, we had to adjust how we supported our customers. However, Abri made a firm decision that supporting victims of DA was a priority. The Community Safety team continued to work with victims, in-line with appropriate risk assessments and PPE. We continued to coordinate management moves, to allow customers to move more quickly, to a safer area. As a team, we did rely more on email, providing the victim was happy and felt their email account was safe.

We do not consider rent arrears to be a barrier to moving

One area that I believe is best practise is that if a disclosure is made either on a mutual exchange application or nomination from the LA, the Community Safety team are notified, so that once the move is agreed, the incoming customer is contacted and an Officer will offer to meet and discuss any additional security measures and provide the contact details of the relevant DA support. Not all housing providers do this, but I believe that it may stop a situation reaching crisis point. Furthermore, if a victim has rent arrears, we would continue to support the customer if they wanted to move, and at Abri, we do not consider rent arrears to be a barrier.  

The most challenging situation that the team faces is when a victim needs to move out of area. Some LAs have refused to accept an application if the customer is from another area. We do our best to support victims that do need to move out of area, and one of the tools we use is a supporting letter from either the police, social services or DA support agency, for example. It’s fantastic that the new Domestic Abuse Act is insisting that LAs review their current guidance for dealing with DA victims.

As previously mentioned, we do have a host of safety options to help a victim stay safe within their home, if they choose to remain. We may ask the police to ‘flag’ the property (with the victim’s consent) so that any 999 call is treated with complete urgency. The police also offer ‘cocoon watch’ where they may consider talking to neighbours in the locality, which could mean a neighbour calling the police if they have concerns, again this is with the victim’s consent.

Our colleagues in Home Care recently attended our Community Safety team meeting and talked through additional property safety measures which was really informative and has helped to give a broader understanding of other options available. Something that we’re currently working on is ensuring that our Abri vans have the right stock on them so that they can complete DA repairs and target hardening as a priority.

As a team, we’ve recently had DA refresher training to ensure that every colleague in the team can offer the best service to our customers, as we appreciate it can be incredibly stressful for a victim, particularly when a lot of agencies are involved.

Looking ahead, we’ll be looking to arrange some further training, with a focus on male victims and also victims within the LGBT community. It’s vital that every customer of Abri that is a victim of DA receives a tailored approach, and we do offer visits where possible, that reflect a customer’s protected characteristics.

And finally, the team will be organising some internal training to our colleagues across Abri, to give everyone the opportunity to learn more about DA, so that if a disclosure is made to them, they give the best possible response possible and with empathy. It’s vital that our customers trust us, as there is so much that we can do to help a victim take control and have their voice heard.

Karolyn Barta is Group Community Safety Manager at Abri, one of the largest housing associations in the south of England, managing 35,000 homes with 100,000 residents living in them.