Our approach to homelessness
As an organisation, we already do vital work to address homelessness, offering much-needed accommodation and support. We play a fundamental role in providing affordable housing and increasing the supply of housing across all tenures. We also prevent homelessness through our tenancy sustainment work and employment and skills services.
As a leading housing association we want to do more. To achieve this, we’ve developed a set of principles to work with partners to prevent, tackle and raise the profile of homelessness.
Our 19 principles
Our principles cover the following three key areas:
To create long-term solutions, we have to address the reasons people become homeless
1. We won’t make any resident homeless who’s actively working with us to keep their tenancy.
2. We make sure residents are financially capable of keeping their homes.
3. We provide support to residents to help them find employment or access training.
4. We’ll ensure that residents in our temporary accommodation are ready and equipped to sustain their tenancy once they move on.
5. We provide all new residents with help to maintain their tenancy.
6. We are committed to addressing domestic abuse and supporting victims.
7. We provide support and practical help to victims and communities to tackle antisocial behaviour (ASB).
A range of housing and support is needed to meet different types of need
8. We work with support agencies to offer supported housing and Housing First for vulnerable groups.
9. We’ll provide good standard temporary accommodation that’s appropriately managed, making sure it’s not used as a long-term solution.
10. We’ll continue to let our general needs homes to statutorily homeless households.
11. We’ll invest in new homes, providing a range of affordable housing options.
12. We’ll continue to do flexible allocations, thinking of individual circumstances and using innovative ways to let our properties.
13. When we assess people as not ready for our homes, we’ll provide support through tenancy training to make them ready.
To tackle homelessness, we all need to work together
14. We’ll work with our primary local authorities to develop and deliver their strategic approach to homelessness.
15. We will be part of forums that support work to address homelessness issues.
16. We’ll use our influence to lobby local and national Government on homelessness issues.
17. We’ll support national campaigns that address and raise awareness of homelessness.
18. We provide financial support to local money advice agencies.
19. We’ll share good practice with other organisations.