HOMELESSNESS
Supporting people back into secure and safe housing
Our experience, our ideas
As a group we have had experience of homelessness and so have been looking at various ways of understanding some of the reasons behind this, with the aim of helping others who have had a similar trajectory. As members of Dynamos, we want to offer practical support to give back to our community.
Our ideas so far have included:
1. Surveying individuals to hear their stories and to identity common themes.
2. Providing ‘Move-in Starter Packs’ for those finding accommodation following a period of being homeless.
3. Creating a mutually-supportive group through which to continue the conversation around homelessness.
So far, we have taken forward a number of surveys and conversations with those impacted by homelessness, done wider research to find out what was available in the borough and identified good practice elsewhere. We hoped to get a range of people in the room together (from different perspectives) to generate ideas of what can be done to tackle homelessness and enable those with lived experience to contribute to active solutions.
Emerging themes included the interconnectivity of homelessness and other issues – with homelessness often the trigger for a multitude of other problems. We identified causes of homelessness that included:
Welfare benefit changes
Zero hours contracts
Loss of job & employment
Mental health issues
Lack of affordable housing
Lack of support for care leavers
Move-in Starter Packs
One of the practical solutions we create was providing ‘Move-in Starter Packs’ for those moving into accommodation. Lorraine initiated this idea due to her own experience of homelessness and subsequently needing to buy lots of essentials with small amount of income.
“When people just come off the streets – they have no money to buy essentials for their new home. I know a lot of people that have experienced that, so knew it was a good idea to take forward. I focused on the essentials you need when you move in – the things you can’t carry around with you when you are rough sleeping. I have linked with a local charity called The Source to provide basic toiletries, underwear, and socks. We distributed the “move on starter packs” through The Source and Kingsley Hall.”
Ultimately, our aim is to create some energy around the conversation and to give a platform for those who aren’t normally heard – making sure those who have experienced homelessness being able to influence policy decisions around housing and support.
