In her first blog, Maria Peavoy Housing First Project Administrator discusses the accommodation process and how bodies across GM have supported the pilot.
‘Everyone has the Right to a Home’ is the first key principle to Housing First, that is why our accommodation process and the support of our amazing housing partners is so important.
A safe and stable home is an integral part of rebuilding lives and setting people on a new pathway to recovery.
Through our partnership with the Greater Manchester Housing Providers (GMHP), we work alongside housing providers across Greater Manchester who have pledged support to help rehouse our people into safe and warm homes.
Our process allows our people to not only choose the type of accommodation that is best suited to their needs but also the area of Greater Manchester that works best for them.
This may be to access family and peer support, rehabilitation services, health and wellbeing services or even to remove them from harmful situations. Linking into our principle of ‘Choice and Control’, our people select the area they want to live in to provide the best possible chances of success.
The GM Housing First central team, alongside our delivery partners, have worked hard to build long-lasting and sustained relationships with housing providers across GM, communicating at each stage; from property offer; viewings; sign-up and move-in dates.
Our Housing First Workers also remain in close contact with housing partners to provide updates on how each person is getting on in their tenancy. They are always available to assist providers and resolve any issues which may arise.
Many of the housing providers within GMHP have gone above and beyond to assist us to secure housing for people who have specific needs or have requested areas that are more geographically challenging.
Through our weekly property needs request, which is tailored to specific Local Authority areas, we have seen an increase in property offers to the pilot; with some providers not just meeting their pledges, but exceeding them.
Over the first two years of the pilot, with the amazing support of housing providers, we have rehoused over 240 people, with a tenancy sustainment rate of 89 per cent and no evictions.
This is a huge achievement and is a testament to the hard work and commitment of all of our housing partners, delivery partners and our dedicated dual diagnosis practitioners.
However, there is still lots more work to do. We are still aiming to support another 90 people into their own home to meet our initial target. Providing a secure home is the first step in rebuilding a person’s life and in many cases offering them safety and stability for the first time.
The stability of a home is already having such a huge positive impact on well-being and is drastically increase the life chances of the people we support. With continued collaboration and partnership working, together we can make a difference.
Comments