We Will Get You a Place, So You Can Fix Your Problems, Homeless Are Told

The United Kingdom is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet the nation still faces a rising amount of homelessness. But a new partnership is gearing the country towards an end to the crisis, with ‘Housing First‘.

Jon Sparkes – chief executive of UK homelessness charity Crisis, who has partnered with Homeless Link on the Housing First England project – explains that 10% of the nation’s homeless have complex issues like alcohol dependency or a severe mental health condition. And in order to be eligible for a place of their own, most areas of the UK currently require those in need to first prove that they no longer have these issues.

The Housing First approach – a recent innovation already supported by the UK’s government on a small scale – switches the priorities around, finding the homeless permanent shelter before tackling the complex issues through coordinated and intensive support. According to Sparkes, Finland is so far the only country in Europe to use this approach as a key response, significantly reducing homelessness over the years.

“The rationale is that by providing this permanent home straight away and without strings attached, people are given the right tools to tackle any other issues and leave homelessness behind for good,” writes Sparkes to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, whose charity is working on scaling up the Housing First project to all those who need it.

See here for more information and help for the homeless suffering from addiction issues.