In recent articles, I explored the challenges older people face in terms of homelessness and how a universal basic income could help matters. While such schemes undoubtedly help, research from Heriot-Watt University highlights the importance of providing vulnerable people with a safe home of their own alongside tailored support packages.
The paper analyzes the “Housing First” Pathfinder program that operates in Scotland, which aimed to scale up the Housing First program across a number of cities, including Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh. In total, it managed to support nearly 600 people by providing them with secure housing.
“Scotland has been seen as an international pioneer in Housing First given the level of political support its received and pace at which it’s been scaled up,” the researchers explain. “We must hope that this commitment is maintained given the pivotal role it can play in ending homelessness and promoting recovery for people experiencing multiple disadvantage.”
The right support
The program began after the homelessness charity Social Bite secured pledges from a range of housing providers to provide one-bedroom flats for rough sleepers who had a range of complex needs. The charity matched this with a commitment of £2 million, and £5 million was provided by the Scottish Government and a further £150,000 from Merchants House of Glasgow.
The paper highlights that the project was extremely effective at preventing repeat homelessness. For instance, tenancy sustainment rates were around 88% over 12 months and around 80% over 24 months. What’s more, participants provided positive feedback regarding the support they received for substance misuse and other health issues.
“The Pathfinder report further underlines the untold benefits of scaling up this approach right across the country to help transform lives and communities,” the researchers explain. “Housing First helps drive up tenancy sustainment, improve people’s mental health and has huge cost savings for local authorities so I’m delighted to see so many positive findings included in this new report.”
Achieving this scale was by no means straightforward, however, but the team believes that the lessons learned will be invaluable as it looks to branch out into other parts of the country. Indeed, the plan is for it to become the default response for homeless people with complex needs.
“The Pathfinder evaluation showed that delivering Housing First at scale may well be difficult, but it’s achievable and very definitely worthwhile given the immense benefits for individuals supported,” the researchers conclude.
