Liverpool City Region Gets £7.7 Million To Pilot Housing First

Three areas in England are set to launch new pilot projects to support rough sleepers with complex needs get off the streets into stable and affordable accommodation.

The projects in Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands Combined Authority, will offer individuals intensive support to recover from complex health issues, such as alcohol and other drug problems and mental health difficulties and sustain their tenancies. The pilot projects will be based on Housing First, an approach to supporting rough sleepers into long-term accommodation.

Announcing the project, Housing Secretary Rt. Hon James Brokenshire, MP, said: “The evidence shows Housing First has an incredible rate of success in providing rough sleepers with the support they need to get off the streets and to rebuild their lives. We are investing over £1.2 billion to break the homelessness cycle, but we know there’s more to do to help people off the streets for good. This is why the government is leading the way in implementing Housing First in England. I believe these pilots will have a positive impact in their areas and I look forward to hearing about their successes over the coming months.”

Housing First puts the emphasis on finding individuals a secure and affordable home to live in, while providing them with expert support to rebuild their lives. In Europe, Housing First projects have been successful at ending homelessness for at least 8 out of 10 people in the scheme. This is compared to hostel-based accommodation that has resulted in between 40% and 60% of users with complex needs leaving, or ejected, before their homelessness is resolved.

The Housing First programme will receive £28 million of Government funding and include an external evaluation to test the approach in a UK setting. The funding allocated to each region over three years is based on the number of rough sleepers, or those at risk of rough sleeping who the Government thinks would benefit from Housing First support, with the remainder to be spent on the evaluation. Liverpool City Region will get £7.7m; Greater Manchester £8m; and the West Midlands £9.6m.

The pilots will support around 1,000 rough sleepers and those at risk of rough sleeping experiencing the most complex disadvantage to help them to end their homelessness. Individuals will be given stable, affordable accommodation and intensive wrap-around support to help them recover from any needs they may have.

The government is also working with the National Housing Federation to look at providing additional, coordinated move-on accommodation for rough sleepers.