The TDS Charitable Foundation and Crisis, the national homelessness charity, have partnered on a three-year project that aims to improve access to the private rented sector (PRS) for people experiencing homelessness.
As homelessness numbers continue to rise in the UK, the PRS must play a vital role in providing homes for people in housing need. The project aims to address existing barriers in order to expand access to the sector.
The first quarter of the project has already seen significant progress towards this goal, with Crisis reporting that they are already ‘ahead of target in terms of securing PRS housing outcomes for our members’.
Service delivery began in July. The first step involved recruiting and establishing specialist Housing Access staff in key locations around the UK at Crisis’ skylight centres. Their role is to build relationships with PRS landlords and secure properties for people in housing need, whilst also ensuring that tenancies can be successfully sustained. So far there have been 41 housing outcomes secured for Crisis members; 27 for people experiencing homeless and 14 for people at risk. Crisis has also begun work on refining their offer to landlords and developing targeted marketing to further aid recruitment.
Another key focus of the initial stage has been improving the Crisis case management system to monitor housing outcomes more accurately, improving data quality and setting a baseline for success measurement. This links to one of the main aims of the project: to generate evidence that can be used to inform policy makers on the best way improve access to the PRS for those experiencing homelessness.
A Housing Community of Practice has also been established, providing a collaborative space for sharing best practice across Crisis teams. Crisis reflected that the project ‘has provided the space and impetus for significant discussions around the importance of the role of the PRS in preventing and ending homelessness.’
After the partnership was publicly launched on 2nd September, news about the project was picked up in several industry publications and positive feedback received from Crisis supporters.
Overall, the groundwork laid in this quarter ensures that the project is well on track to achieve its mission of expanding access to the private rented sector for those in need.
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