Mayors join forces on homelessness pilot scheme

Andy Street made the plea with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram over the Housing First pilots.

The three schemes have worked with 1,245 people in total, with 812 people having been housed in secure tenancies and 87 more supported into another home.

Mr Street said: "We all know homelessness is the ultimate exclusion, and rough sleeping is at the sharpest end of that. Thankfully we’ve made real progress in tackling rough sleeping across the West Midlands in recent years thanks to some brilliant collaborative work – but there is still so much more to be done.

"One of the keys to our success so far has been Housing First, which gives some of the most challenged people in society safety and security, and the belief that change is possible. By combining a home with skilled intensive support for as long as is needed, the programme has made a real difference to hundreds of people’s lives in the West Midlands.

"Speaking to people with lived experience, it is clear they have put their trust in our programme. I am therefore extremely keen that the Housing First model continues with Government support, and we honour that trust placed in us by society’s most vulnerable."

The mayors want the Government to extend funding for the pilots and for the Comprehensive Spending Review to include cross-departmental sustainable funding to ensure people on the programmes are supported and don't risk returning to rough sleeping.

They were speaking at a stakeholder event on Wednesday, with more than 200 delegates from across the pilot areas and were being joined by Housing and Rough Sleeping Minister Eddie Hughes MP.

There are an estimated 1,018 people across the pilot programmes who will need support when the funding ends. A meeting of the cross-party All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing First last week also backed calls for an extension of the pilots.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: "When I first took office, Greater Manchester was struggling to cope with a growing homelessness crisis. Since then, a range of local policies I’ve introduced, and national policies have helped turn this around and Housing First is one of them.

"Housing First works and it works well. The success of our pilots speaks for themselves and that’s why I want the Government to extend funding for the existing programmes and then provide sustainable funding to roll it out as a national policy as we work together to achieve our ambition to end rough sleeping."

Traditional homelessness services and health and support services don't work for many people who are rough sleeping with complex needs – which is the reason why some people continue to sleep rough, or move around the system.

A person-centred and trauma-informed approach is a better way of supporting people – which is what Housing First offers through ongoing intensive support, with the service also supporting people with health issues and disabilities.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "There has been an alarming rise in homelessness over the past decade, as austerity stripped away many of the safety nets that some relied on. Through these Housing First pilots, we have collectively shown that there is a better, more humane way of treating people.

"Instead of looking at statistics or targets to be met, we treat people as human beings. Rather than cutting them adrift, we offer them wraparound support to address their complex issues. And, instead of temporary solutions, we’re helping to break the homelessness cycle and change people’s lives forever.

"Unfortunately, the future of these Housing First pilots in the country is unclear. I am calling on Government to give Housing First sustainable, long-term funding and to work with us to help roll the scheme out across the country."