Ending Homelessness Together: A New Approach in Brent through Built for Zero
The Berkeley Foundation has been dedicated to supporting Crisis for over a decade, and on April 30, 2024, we launched our latest funding agreement with a substantial grant of £777,121 over three years. This funding will support Brent Skylight’s frontline services and Crisis’ place-based approach to ending homelessness, including the innovative Built for Zero (BFZ) methodology.
What is Built for Zero?
Built for Zero (BFZ) is a data-driven framework that allows communities to use real-time data to quickly respond to the needs of their homeless population, with the ultimate goal of ending homelessness sustainably. Developed by Community Solutions, a not-for-profit organization with 30 years of experience in tackling homelessness, BFZ has already helped communities across the US, Canada, and Australia measure and successfully reduce homelessness.
The methodology provides an effective framework that guides local communities in developing, testing, and implementing changes aimed at improving homelessness systems. Brent is the first community in the UK to implement BFZ, a crucial step in the mission to end homelessness.
A New Approach in Brent: Real-Time Data for Lasting Change
As of October 2023, the BFZ initiative in Brent has been underway, marking the first UK community to pilot this methodology. The project focuses on understanding and responding to the needs of rough sleepers using real-time data. At its core is a 'By Name List' (BNL), which tracks all rough sleepers in the borough. The BNL includes a gender-informed definition of rough sleeping, ensuring that individuals who may otherwise be overlooked—such as women sleeping in hidden locations—are captured.
The first nine months of the project were dedicated to achieving “quality data,” a key milestone. This data allows us to confidently track rough sleepers and identify trends, which helps uncover barriers within the homelessness system in Brent. Instead of focusing solely on individual needs, the BFZ team is addressing system-wide barriers, such as inflexible pathways that prevent rough sleepers from moving into long-term housing. By identifying these obstacles, they can begin to plan as a community how to overcome them.
Testing Ideas and Collaborating for Change
One of the key features of the BFZ approach is its innovation: testing change ideas in 90-day sprints. This method allows the team to experiment with new solutions, track their impact, and adjust as needed. Rather than committing significant resources upfront, BFZ relies on creative problem-solving, drawing together decision-makers and frontline staff to test ideas within available constraints.
Through data collection and analysis, the BFZ team identified a trend within the housing related support pathway: people are being evicted from housing support services and returning to the streets. To address this, the team have engaged housing-related support providers in the project and a workshop was run in December to explore new change ideas to trial. This workshop included a broad range of professionals—Brent Council staff, St Mungo’s outreach team, NHS services, voluntary organisations like Crisis, and housing-related support providers—working together to co-produce solutions and improve pathways. New change ideas will be finalised and rolled out in early 2025.
Collaboration in Action: Building Better Systems
Alongside these system improvement efforts, the BFZ team meets weekly to review individual cases and determine the best course of action for moving people into long-term housing. The collaboration among services has already led to some notable shifts in both culture and system. For instance, the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust have launched a new mental health rough sleeping team. This includes a mental health nurse who participates in weekly outreach shifts, ensuring that individuals with mental health needs are quickly identified and referred to appropriate services. This partnership has facilitated access to initial mental health assessments and helped individuals build relationships with clinical professionals. The drug and alcohol service and outreach team in Brent have seen improved collaboration, including the hiring of a rough sleeping nurse who works alongside the outreach team each week.
The BNL has been instrumental in promoting shared responsibility across the borough. Partners take collective ownership of the individuals on the list. For instance, each year, Brent hosts a Winter Night Shelter, operated by the local faith organisation Rumi’s Cave. Under the new system, referrals are prioritised based on the vulnerability of individuals listed on the BNL, ensuring that those most in need are given access to available bed spaces. This replaces the previous first-come, first-served approach used before the implementation of BFZ.
Systemic Change for a Long-Term Solution
While the BFZ project cannot immediately create more affordable housing, it is making crucial strides in improving local systems for supporting rough sleepers. Once systems are functioning more effectively, the next step will be advocating for more social housing and affordable accommodation.
The success of BFZ hinges on community involvement, a willingness to trial new ideas, and flexibility in service delivery. The goal is clear: to make rough sleeping rare, brief, and non-recurring. By improving our systems, we can take the first critical step toward that vision.
A Commitment to Ending Homelessness
Ending homelessness is a long-term endeavour, but it is one that Crisis is deeply committed to. The collaboration with Brent Council, alongside the support of The Berkeley Foundation, is central to driving large, systemic changes. By holding regular Advisory Group meetings that bring together Crisis, The Berkeley Foundation, and Brent Council, we ensure that the partnership stays on track and accountable. Together, we are building a more effective system and creating lasting, impactful change for rough sleepers in Brent.
We are excited about the future of this partnership and the role it will play in shaping a UK-wide movement to end homelessness once and for all.
Join us in supporting the effort to end homelessness—one step at a time.