Do you have an idea for how things can be improved for people in temporary accommodation? Do you feel a lack of funding is holding you back from trying it out in practice? We may be able to help.
We know that the safety net temporary accommodation (TA) is meant to be, all too often turns out to be a trap, keeping people stuck in a cycle of desperation. We also know the homelessness sector is full of examples of wonderful initiatives and powerful impact on people’s lives, but the scale and depth of the problem is so great that it can feel like taking one step forward, only to move two steps back.
The number of people in TA keeps growing, and the conditions in TA continue to deteriorate.
Add to this the limited funding and it is hard to see where creative thinking around new solutions is going to come from. And yet we know that many people in the sector have ideas they cannot fund because there is no proof.
If this sounds like you, read on.
The opportunity
Justlife is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) to lead one of three new Testing Hubs, designed to test your ideas and find bold, local solutions that improve the lives of people living in temporary accommodation.
A Testing Hub is a locally-led innovation lab. It is a place (although not necessarily a building) where you and your partners can co-design, test and evaluate new approaches that aim to make TA either:
Shorter in duration
Safer for residents, or
Healthier overall
The Hubs can be placed anywhere in the UK*, and will be part of our Transforming Temporary Accommodation Programme.
If successful, you’ll be backed by Justlife and connected with a UK-wide learning network. You’ll also work with people with lived experience at every stage of the journey, and help generate solutions that could influence policy and instigate changes to practice across the country.
Each Testing Hub will receive up to £128,800 over two years. Funding covers your work to develop and deliver a solution in your area. Additional support will be provided by Justlife and our external Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) partner.
While we hope to find three effective new ideas for scalable solutions that can help transform the lives of people in TA, learning why something doesn’t work is also a valuable outcome. Learning is key to the Transforming Temporary Accommodation Programme; what we need is bold ideas, turned into evidence.
Deadline: 23 June 2025, by 5pm
Click here for more information on how to apply.
*Manchester and Brighton are excluded as Justlife already is operational there.
