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Since the 2002 Homelessness Act, all Local Authorities have been obliged to have a Homelessness Strategy in place.

 

Most Local Authorities recognise that the contribution of people who use homelessness services is essential to making their Homelessness Strategy informed, meaningful and successful. In the past three months Groundswell has worked alongside three councils, helping them to find out from people experiencing homelessness what needs to happen to improve accommodation and council services – the sorts of things that help and hinder people moving on to work and training and into their own place – and what prevention schemes should look like, when they should be delivered and by whom.

 

In each of the 3 areas – the City of Liverpool, London Borough of Croydon and Borough of Telford & Wrekin – Groundswell’s Peer Researchers conducted focus groups and interviews with people currently experiencing homelessness. Additionally, in the case of Croydon and Telford & Wrekin, Groundswell facilitated a planning event to bring all stakeholders, including clients, together to plan how to address issues rising from the research.

 

186 people currently experiencing homelessness gave their views and talked about their experiences of homelessness services. In each geographic area, these views and experiences helped to shape the ways in which council services will work over the next five years to prevent homelessness and help people who are homeless to move on. 

 

Across the geographical regions, there were some common themes that appeared frequently, including:

 

Private accommodation is seen by many as “not secure enough”. Participants indicated a need for stronger assurances in regard to length of tenancy and their rights before they would consider private accommodation a viable option.

 

Many felt stigmatised by staff, landlords, employers and the wider community. This impacts on individuals’ self-esteem and their ability to move on from homelessness. There was a call for a public campaign to combat stereotypes of homelessness and direct people to preventative services if they find themselves in a vulnerable situation with their housing.

 

Most participants indicated a strong need for support to enable them to keep a tenancy once they had moved in. Many were worried about their ability to furnish their own place, manage utilities, avoid isolation and fit in to a new community.

 

You can find more information about Groundswell research and view some of our reports here.