Tackling Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Forum

• Outlining the current challenges facing the UK in relation to tackling the homelessness and rough sleeping crisis, including the Vagrancy Act
• Understanding the current campaigns being run by Crisis, including the ‘A life in Limbo’ campaign that ends the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation for more than seven days
• Discussing the progress made towards meeting solutions to end homelessness set out in the ‘Everybody In: How to end homelessness in Great Britain‘ report published in 2018, including preventative measures to stop people becoming homeless and creating effective housing solutions to support this preventative work
• Highlighting the need for a long term vision to tackle the homelessness crisis within the UK and the need for partnerships working at a local and national level to improve services and make an end to homelessness a reality

This is an opportunity to hear about an exciting new service for single homeless clients which is being delivered in partnership by Sovereign Housing Association, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Outcome Home. The aim of the service is to create a safe, stable, positive and homely environment for people who have slept rough and been living in emergency accommodation for the last 5 months. With input from peer mentors and clinical psychologists from the outset of the project, this service holds co-production, PIE and the prevention of repeat homelessness at its core.

Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.

• Outlining how Bradford Council developed their homelessness and rough sleeping strategy around the principles of early intervention and partnership working with the voluntary and faith sector
• Understanding how Bradford council aim to reduce rough sleeping through No Second Night Out services and introduce day shelter services to help provide a safe space for rough sleepers to access services and appropriate accommodation
• Highlighting how working with the faith and voluntary sector helps to provide access to food, clothing and bathing facilities in a community setting
• Working in partnership with the health and social care sector to address the needs of rough sleepers, and thoroughly reviewing the deaths of rough sleepers to ensure that future services can reduce these

• Outlining how London Borough of Haringey created an entirely new homelessness system in hotels, former care homes and night shelters in response to the ‘Everybody In’ directive
• Highlighting the key role of partnership and collaboration in providing immediate and long-term outcomes for people placed in accommodation during lockdown
• Understanding the health impacts and outcomes observed during lockdown and the plans to embed this in long-term planning for homelessness and inclusion health
• Outlining initiatives to address racism and racial inequality in homelessness services and commissioning, which has come from global and local events during this period

• Exploring how the Amari Project, and the Rhea project, run in collaboration between Solace Women’s Aid and Commonweal Housing, provided housing for women fleeing sexual exploitation and survivors of domestic abuse
• Understanding the complex needs of this group, including post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use issues, as well as childcare responsibilities, and the support these require beyond the services of emergency accommodation
• Outlining how these projects have enabled women to move on to independent living – showing the significance that good quality housing had on their recovery
• Discussing how the combination of suitable, independent living and trauma-informed support enables women to recover and avoid homelessness and rough sleeping

Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.

*Programme Subject to Change

• Understanding the impact that the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 has had on the rights of homeless people in England and the renewed focus it has given to ending homelessness
• Highlighting the lessons learnt on tackling rough sleeping and homelessness during the Covid-19 pandemic, including analysing the government’s response to protecting the homelessness population
• Outlining the current government strategy for tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, including increased funding for the Cold Weather Fund and increasing funding available to local councils in the form of the Homelessness Reduction Grant to provide a radical change in the way services are provided to the homeless
• Discussing the ‘A Safe Home’ campaign established by the APPG for Ending Homelessness to ensuring that people fleeing domestic abuse are guaranteed a safe home from their council

• Developing and delivering an ‘A Bed Every Night’ principle for Greater Manchester
• Discussing the Greater Manchester Model for Unified Public Services and what it means for ending rough sleeping
• Building engagement and collaboration across local government, voluntary and community organisation, housing providers and wider public services
• Highlighting the importance of public engagement and the steps taken to encourage participation and action

Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.

• Discussing how challenging housing conditions and homelessness can be the high price survivors pay for escaping abuse
• Outlining how the No Woman Turned Away Project supports women who have been unable to access refuge accommodation to help these women avoided rough sleeping and homelessness whilst waiting for refuge accommodation
• Highlighting the challenges facing domestic abuse victims accessing refuge spaces including, ties to local areas, mental health support needs and disabilities
• Discussing the survivor’s experiences of working with local housing and social services, including a lack of affordable housing for women and their children
• Sharing the current gaps in services for finding refuge for domestic abuse survivors and how local authorities, housing associations and the voluntary sector need to work together to improve these services
• Understanding the importance of providing specialist services for women to ensure that suitable refuge is found

• Outlining how Nottingham City Council successfully bid for over £1.2 million in funding from the Government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative
• Understanding how this funding will be utilised to provide specialist services to those leaving prison or hospital to ensure they have a safe living environment, as well as creating emergency shelters and supported housing
• Highlighting how Nottingham City Council was the first city to pilot a Somewhere Safe to Stay hub (SSTS), a rapid rehousing pathway initiative, this centre assigns rough sleepers a dedicated adviser to help provide more permanent housing situations
• Discussing how Nottingham City Council plan to utilise this latest funding to build on existing initiatives and provide a much-needed pathway back to permanent housing for those with complex needs
• The refocusing of the RSI in line with Covid 19 to align it with priorities to address the pandemic and impact on provision of rough sleeping provision

Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.

• Outlining how the Pathway Homeless Team based at The Royal London Hospital aims to ensure that rough sleepers admitted to hospital do not get discharged back to the streets
• Understanding how this award-winning scheme works closely with staff within the hospital and housing and social care organisations to ensure that individuals are discharged to a safe place
• Exploring the complex physical and mental health problems experienced by those who are homeless and the impact it can have to utilise community support to ensure they are not returned to the street
• Discussing how the team encourage rough sleepers or those in temporary accommodation to register with a doctor to ensure they can be provided with specialist services and help find permanent accommodation

Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.

*Programme subject to change