This plan is the blueprint for ending homelessness in Great Britain. It also defines the new context for our work.
This appendix outlines how we will play our part over the next five years to help bring about a permanent end to homelessness in England, Scotland and Wales.
18.1 Introduction During the development of this plan, we were also developing our next five year strategy which starts in July 2018.
Crisis’ strategic plan 2018-2023
Our new strategy centres on implementing the plan to end homelessness. It focuses on making sure homeless people get the best possible benefit from our services and from our policy and campaigning work.
Crisis’ strategic goals
We carried out a wide-ranging consultation and planning process for our strategy. The following five goals emerged:
- to ensure that the policy changes needed to end homelessness are adopted
- to ensure that national governments in England, Scotland and Wales adopt their own plans for ending homelessness
- to demonstrate that homelessness can be ended in local areas
- to end the homelessness of more people through direct services
- to end homelessness for more of those currently excluded from help or with complex needs.
The following sections summarise the key priority areas for the organisation over the next five years.
18.2 Policy prioritisation
We will pursue positive changes to the policies that cause, sustain and solve homelessness across Great Britain. This includes housing, welfare and migration policy and homelessness legislation.
We will work with governments and across party lines to build consensus and solutions in these areas.
18.3 National homelessness strategies
We will support all three national governments to produce and publish full plans to end homelessness.
We will support the good work already begun through the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group in Scotland. As this becomes the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group, and moves to the next stage in producing tangible reforms, we will play our part to ensure the reforms are as bold and effective as possible.
In England, we will support the development and implementation of the forthcoming rough sleeping strategy. We will continue to invest our resources in supporting the implementation of The Homelessness Reduction Act (2017).
Our goal will be met when administrations in England, Scotland and Wales each publish a comprehensive plan to end homelessness and make the necessary funding available.
18.4 Ending homelessness in local areas
During the past five years we have expanded our services across local areas in Great Britain. We will focus on achieving maximum impact for homeless people in those areas.
We will work with up to three areas to become early adopters of this plan. This will involve forming partnerships with local government to prepare for and plan a ten year strategy to end homelessness. To support this, we will bring policy, research and other dedicated resources, and invest in services locally. We will ensure that the lessons and progress achieved in these areas are shared to inform national policy making, and vice versa. We also intend to support any other organisations and areas that are doing similar work by sharing the lessons we learn.
Where we already operate Crisis Skylight Centres, we will increase the support for local authority homelessness strategies. We will start by commissioning an audit of current homelessness provision in these areas.
18.5 Crisis’ services
Ending homelessness for more people using Crisis’ services, including those currently excluded from help or those with complex needs
Delivering services for homeless people will continue to be at the heart of our work. We will invest in building evidence, creating change and maximising our impact. The evidence we gather while supporting our clients will ensure that our national policy recommendations represent the changes that homeless people need.
We will use a new measure of ‘homelessness ended’. This measure is when a client is at the successful point of leaving Crisis’ services. Interim indicators of progress before a client leaves such as ‘improved resilience’, will be used too.
Our services will work with some of the most excluded homeless people. These will include migrant homeless people, people with complex and multiple needs, and those locked out of the benefits system.
This change of emphasis may mean that we work with fewer people.
Some key strategies for achieving success will include:
- introducing a more robust case management approach
- developing new or changing service models such rapid rehousing, Housing First solutions, and services for migrant homeless people
- providing more services for people who are rough sleeping, destitute or have complex support needs.
We will:
- complete the work started with the FrameWorks Institute to show how new and refined messages about homelessness positively change public responses
- work with sector membership bodies in England, Scotland and Wales to help disseminate these findings
- change our fundraising materials over time to reflect these new and improved ways of communicating about homelessness
- work with media contacts to understand and positively respond to the lessons of the research.
18.7 ‘What works’ – building the evidence
Philanthropic funding has helped us set up a new Centre for Homelessness Impact with Glasgow Homelessness Network (GHN). The centre, launched in spring 2018, is building the evidence of how to effectively prevent and tackle homelessness. It is based in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London.
The centre is committed to filling the gaps in evidence. It will do this by involving government at local and national levels, as well as trusts and foundations, researchers, and others sharing our commitment to using evidence to achieve better results.
It will help policy-makers, commissioners and front line practitioners, to build and use evidence about ‘what works’. They will be supported to make effective use of resources and to improve impact. In all of its work, the centre will strive to make evidence accessible; this will be through training, support for innovation, and interactive tools.
The initial programme of work includes:
- creating an evidence map and ‘what works’ guide to steer investment in homelessness services towards activities with the greatest impact
- developing an outcomes framework to help provide consistent aims and objectives, as outlined in Chapter 9 ‘Homelessness data’
- designing standards of evidence to help service providers and policy makers improve decisions about which interventions are the most effective.
The work of the centre is important to Crisis but we, alongside GHN, are committed to ensuring it is an independent body. We anticipate this happening by spring 2019.
18.8 Conclusion
Homelessness has grown and will continue to do so unless a different approach is taken. The Crisis 2018- 23 strategy is about doing everything we can do, with others, to tackle this. In 2023 we want to look back on a successful five years and say that the end of homelessness is in sight.
