Our Approach
Housing First is an evidence-based approach, which uses housing as a platform to enable individuals with experiences of multiple disadvantage and complex needs to begin recovery and move away from homelessness.
The Housing First Model
​​Housing First is a housing and support approach which:
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Gives people who have experienced homelessness and chronic health and social care needs a stable home from which to rebuild their lives.
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Provides intensive, person-centred, holistic support that is open-ended.
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Places no conditions on individuals; however, they should desire to have a tenancy.
Principles
1. People have a right to a home - Housing First is fundamentally rights-based. Everyone has the right to a home that provides them with a safe and secure place without conditions or the need to demonstrate readiness.
2. Flexible support is provided for as long as it is needed - Support offered is intensive and flexible to meet the needs of the people supported. There are not any time limits to the support and people can choose to move away from the intensive support when they feel ready to.
3. Housing and support are separated - Support is not tied to peoples tenancies – if people leave a tenancy the support continues. Likewise if a person decides to move away from support their tenancy will remain.
4. Individuals have choice and control - People have the power to choose how they want to be supported and what they want to focus on. They also have the choice of where they want to live and the type of property they want to live in.
5. An active engagement approach is used - Support is anchored in building trust and strong, trusting relationships. It is our responsibility to find ways of engaging and supporting people that suits them, is non-threatening and allows relationships to thrive.
6. The service is based on people’s strengths, goals and aspirations - Support is focused on the person, their strengths and their goals. By helping people to identify and work towards their dreams, we can build individuals’ resilience, hope and self-esteem.
7. A harm reduction approach is used - Whilst there are no conditions around behaviour change and/or access of services, the service take a proactive and encouraging approach to support individuals holistically to think about their health and social care needs in relation to harm and risk, and support individuals to reduce the negative impact on their lives.
Fidelity
Fidelity, when referring to the Housing First model, signifies how closely a Housing First service aligns to the 7 principles. Evidence from across the world tells us that the closer a service aligns to the principles of Housing First (High Fidelity) the better the outcomes for the people supported.
In Greater Manchester we are committed to delivering a high fidelity Housing First service. We use the national fidelity framework ‘Staying on Track’ as the basis for our approach to monitoring fidelity and continuous service improvement. In addition, we use a range of other methods to capture feedback from our partners, stakeholders and supported people.
For more information about Housing First, visit the Housing First pages on the Homeless Link website HERE
The Housing First approach was first developed in New York by Pathways to Housing in 1992.
It has since been widely adopted in the USA and become central to the national homelessness strategies in Canada, Denmark, Finland and France, demonstrating widespread success. Click here for the Housing First Europe website.
In England, since 2010, a growing number of local areas have established Housing First services to meet an identified need. Unlike other supported housing models, individuals do not need to prove they are ready for independent housing, or progress through a series of accommodation and treatment services.
There are no conditions placed on them, other than a willingness to maintain a tenancy agreement, and Housing First is designed to provide long-term, open-ended support for their on-going needs.
Housing First uses a person-centred and trauma informed approach to put the persons goals and aspiration as the core of the support.