Housing Solutions service Ian Swift Head of Housing

Housing Solutions service Ian Swift Head of Housing Solutions

Context, culture change, recruitment and training • Listening to customers - Customer Focus Groups Homeless Link and advocates • Empowerment, agile working and thinking • Shelter and Solace Women’s Aid work from the Housing Solutions office 5 days a week (independent advocacy) • Customer satisfaction now 91% increased from 15% six years ago • Recruitment of officers with lived homeless experience - 400 applications • Growing our own through the recruitment of new officers • New dynamic environment we encourage risk taking and there is no such thing as failure or mistakes • Would I want anyone from my family to receive a service from the Housing Solutions service? • • southwark. gov. uk • Page 2

Context, culture change, recruitment and training • LHA rates no PRS properties are available in Southwark. Crisis report and our own experience • We have eliminated the use of Bed and Breakfast accommodation and now working to eliminate the use of Nightly Paid accommodation. We have reduced the use of nightly paid accommodation by 29% this financial year • New framework for housing approaches • Temporary accommodation reduced in Southwark by 5% compared to a 4. 6% increase nationally • Homelessness preventions increasing • External Accreditations White Ribbon, Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance and Make a Stand etc. • The HRA 2017 is the basic foundations for our work. Our ultimate goal is to go way beyond the basics of the Act basic elements. • • southwark. gov. uk • Page 3

The challenges • Resources – Supply and Demand • Budget pressure (TA) • Turning the PHP from an assessment to a conversation with agreement. • Changing the conversation to information of interest – consent rather than compliance • Government funding is inadequate • The council is committed to making the Homelessness Reduction Act a success • To have a successful Housing First model we need the housing • The welfare reforms are increasing homelessness • Duty to Cooperate not duty to refer • Changing the culture is essential to improving customer experience. This is a key challenge for partners and advocates, as well as local authorities • • southwark. gov. uk • Page 4

New innovations • Re-modelling completely the service provided using the Homelessness Reduction Act as the minimum offer • Rough Sleeping initiatives outreach work with Solace Women’s Aid • A need for a national homelessness prevention strategy with sustainable funding • Changing the law to ensure everyone made homeless after fleeing domestic abuse has access to a safe home would help ensure people are given the safety and security they need to rebuild their lives • Hub property provided to Solace Women’s Aid • Prison release work • Housing First with Solace Women’s Aid • No one allowed to return to a perpetrator. Accommodation always provided • Future Crisis partnership work • • southwark. gov. uk • Page 5

New innovations • We need to hear the customers voice and experience to challenge us to be better in the future. • We assist the most vulnerable through Housing First and provide intensive support for each individual to sustain their tenancies. • We assist those with support needs into supported housing • We provide accommodation in the private sector and put the power in the hands of the clients to find accommodation for themselves • We work with external agencies including job centre, health services, Beam, etc. to assist them with issues outside of housing • Before the HRA 2017 we would not have completed these tasks to resolve their homelessness, basic advice and assistance. • 20% of our TA is provided to vulnerable households without dependents • 60% of our approaches are now from singles which shows single people have confidence that we are helping them • • southwark. gov. uk • Page 6

New innovations • Having the right resources (landlords, agents, Self help scheme, incentive payments, nightly hostels, staffs) • More prevention cases via NFNO, visiting officers & Private Tenancies Team • Working in partnership with public bodies such as Job centre plus, CGL, Thames Reach, probation etc. • Support from the Resettlement service • The prevention hub referral (visiting officers, NFNO, Private Tenancies Team, Procurement, Resettlement, Financial Inclusion team) • Engagement and understanding of and with the PRS sector. This includes a solution based approach to structural challenges such as LHA and welfare reform. Schemes developed NFNO, PRS preventions and Property finding service. The evolution of Help 2 Rent and landlords forums. • Partnership working with key stakeholders, Shelter, supported housing pathways - introduction of a same day assessment and referral for singles to supported housing • • southwark. gov. uk • Page 7