Tag Archives: prison leavers

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 lifeline for prison leavers

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People leaving prison are at high risk of homelessness – often they are released with nowhere to go or with accommodation options that are unsustainable.  On release, they may struggle to find accommodation with a private landlord or to access welfare payments.  Supported housing for ex-offenders, such as Longhurst’s Group‘s specialist accommodation and floating support service in Grimsby, can offer a lifeline. Rob Sumner, Service Manager – NE Lincs Housing Related Support, shares how the service is helping ex-offenders build independence and move forward with their lives.

Since the loss of industry in Grimsby, the area has become one of the most deprived in England. It has high unemployment, with more people claiming welfare benefits – including in-work benefits – than the national average.

The crime rate for the area currently sits at 134 per 1000 people, with 11,811 crimes committed in the area in 2021 – the majority of which are violence, sexual offences, criminal damage, and anti-social behaviour.

Longhurst Group’s Accommodation and Floating Support service in Grimsby operates 17 shared properties, mainly in the East Marsh region which is one of the most deprived areas in the town.

There are a total of 48 bed spaces, with customers occupying rooms on licence agreements. Four in five customers have some type of criminal history and the aim of the service is to provide customers with a second chance.

Often, we find that offenders are released back into the community with very little support. Customers are often told to attend probation at a certain time and are often left with no accommodation.

This has a huge impact on them re-offending and often when speaking to customers they’ll state they’ve previously re-offended to access prison as this is a better option than homelessness.

Rob Sumner, Longhurst Group’s Service Manager, NE Lincs Housing Related Support

We risk assess all customers and try and find the most suitable placement for them. Our colleagues operate a positive risk approach and work closely with the local authority and Probation service and generally house customers who’ve been released from prison with no accommodation.

Colleagues operate a holistic supportive service. Our philosophy is that if it hasn’t worked before, that doesn’t mean that it won’t work now. Each stay, we hope to achieve some outcomes, whether they’re big or small, and build upon this on each time.

This proactivity works to reduce stigma around common issues, as many of the customers accessing the service feel that they’ve been let down and are judged based on their criminal history, drug use and/or mental health diagnosis.

The nature of the service means that a significant number of customers are recalled back to prison, usually for breaching bail conditions. To prevent homelessness and to meet the obligation in the Homelessness Reduction Act, our colleagues will work with probation officers, Housing Benefit teams and other statutory bodies to try to keep accommodation available for customers if the prison stay is short, but any stay in prison isn’t a barrier to accessing the service.  

Each property has an allocated support worker who visits every day during the week. We don’t operate the service over a weekend.

This enables customers to build independence and to live with as much normality as possible, with the aim of supporting customers to move on to independent accommodation.

One of our customers stated that she’d used substances since she was 21. She’s now in her 40s. She’d committed several shop thefts to fund her drug use.

As a service, we find that criminality is often used to support drug use. Her last conviction was for criminal damage and assault, with the sentence being three years in prison. This was committed whilst under the influence of Valium.  

She had lived in social housing for eight years but due to her criminality and sentencing, this property and tenancy was withdrawn. Upon release, she had no accommodation and ended up sleeping rough and fell back into drug use. The local authority made a referral to several homeless accommodation providers, and we accepted the referral and placed the customer into one of our shared accommodation units.

Since being in the service, our customer has managed to access support for substance misuse and accessed health appointments that she wouldn’t have been able to access previously.

She’s also received support with her mental health and is now on medication. She’s due to move into a new property with her partner and has stated that without the support of the service, this wouldn’t have ever been possible.

Rob Sumner is Service Manager – NE Lincs Housing Related Support at Homes for Cathy member Longhurst Group, one of the leading housing groups in the Midlands and East of England, providing more than 23,500 homes and a wide range of care and support services.