At this months meet up we spent time thinking about this key question:
“What can we (frontline workers, local authority or voluntary sector) do to prevent homelessness and increase ‘move on’ options?” Here are some of the thoughts that we came up with:
- Find new ways of engaging clients/homeless people in conversations around aspiration, work and learning
- Proactive, timely sharing of information
- Interagency trust
- Pick up the phone!
- More funding for keeping families together
- Be friendly (not too many rules)
- Ask what clients really want
- Flexible funding
- Training for schools, GPs etc (interlinking)
- Maximising the use of existing housing stock
- Engaging with landlords
- Cross-organisational training on mental health, Psychologically Informed Environments, benefits etc
- Lower caseloads
- Holistic approach
- Build community
- Joint working
- Psychologically informed approach
- Trauma informed approach
- Rent caps
- Don’t make people intentionally homeless from rehab
- Regulate temporary accommodation
- More personality disorder services
- Service mapping for both services/agencies and landlords
- Shared learning and best practice
- Better family mental health support
- Focus less on risk, fear, problems and more on passions, interests, strengths and goals
Other News:The
St Martins Network are able to provide funding for groups working together to try and tackle issues we face. More info will follow at the next meeting and a discussion around potential ideas.To keep up-to-date with Frontline Network events, sign up to our
mailing list.
