How can homelessness be stopped

Its methodology, developed by a non-profit organisation, Community Solutions, is based on the conviction that homelessness is not just a housing, public health or policy issue, but a complex problem that requires everyone working on it to collaborate in counting down, individual by individual, to zero.

A centralised, command-and-control approach, which Community Solutions likens to the coordinated, community-wide surveillance systems that once led, for example, to the eradication of smallpox, is informed by comprehensive, detailed, real-time and by-name data on every person in the community who is homeless. Only this depth of data will allow communities to really know their homeless people, find appropriate solutions for each one, optimise their resources, develop a successful strategy and share what works with other cities, the organisation believes: it is not just about resources, but devising a faster, smarter, more coordinated system.

How do we get him housed as fast as we can? Elsewhere, other cities have adopted different approaches. In the , Italy passed new mental health legislation paving the way for state mental hospitals to close and be replaced with a robust network of community-based mental health services instead with an emphasis on respect, social inclusion, community participation and support when needed.

Recognised by the World Health Organisation as global best practice for mental health care, the city, with a population of ,, closed its 1,bed mental health institution in and now has only six psychiatric hospital beds in an unlocked ward, with staff in plain clothes. Severely ill patients needing full-time support live in informal, home-like communal houses; if they leave, staff accompany them to make sure they keep receiving treatment.

Involuntary hospitalisation is rare: people with easy access to help, who know and trust their carers, are less prone to reject medication or therapy, so their conditions are less likely to deteriorate. When things go wrong in Trieste, psychiatrists, not police, are usually first on the scene. Patients, in general, are embraced as full members of the community; many join clubs and take part in communal activities. At the other end of Europe, the Finnish capital, Helsinki, has pursued a determined Housing First policy that has helped make the country the only one in the EU where homelessness is falling.

Instead, a home should be the secure foundation that makes it easier to solve your problems. With state, municipal and NGO backing, flats were bought, new blocks built and old homeless shelters converted into homes. Public bodies such as hospitals, police and job centres can often be the first to be aware somebody is at risk of homelessness.

A duty on local authorities in Scotland to prevent homelessness. A wider duty on other public bodies in each nation of Great Britain to prevent homelessness. Funding of Critical Time Interventions, an evidence-based approach that helps people at most risk of homelessness. T hese are in Present Value terms at prices and apply to the specific solutions costed in their model. We know we can end homelessness. But we need Everybody In to make it happen.

Are you in? There's never been more focus on ending homelessness in Britain. Progress is being made all the time. A government commitment to end rough sleeping by , with a strategy set to be delivered by the new Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce. The Homelessness Reduction Act was implemented in , ensuring that thousands more people get support they need to prevent and end their homelessness.

The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group being established by the Scottish Government to look at transformational change across the country. A Scottish Government commitment to build at least 50, affordable homes by , including 35, social homes.

New prevention duties on local councils to help anyone who is under threat of homelessness or to relieve the situation for people already homeless. National Housing First principles for Wales being established, with funding to pilot the approach across the country. A Welsh Government committment to end youth homelessness within ten years by Everyone deserves a place to live We've followed the evidence to find out what's really needed Not just for today, but longer term and for good.

Everybody In: How to end homelessness in Great Britain In 21st century Britain, everybody should have a place to live. Read more: The Plan. Read the full plan here. How we made the plan We've used the best insight from at home and abroad to show how we can end homelessness for good. How we made the plan. The plan was created using Widescale review of the best evidence worldwide. New research from leading academics and organisations. Read more: Introduction.

Background We all deserve a safe, stable place to live. People lose their homes when the constant pressure from housing and living costs builds up and gets too much. What is this? Without government support, a sudden increase in pressure like losing a job or becoming ill can quickly force people into homelessness. Read more: Public policy and homelessness. Over time, the policy choices that affect these pressures have made homelessness go up and down.

Read more: Projecting homelessness. It doesn't have to be like this. With political choices based on what has worked at home and abroad, we can end homelessness. This plan offers politicians bold solutions. What ending homelessness means What ending homelessness means Outlining what this plan will achieve Read more. Somewhere stable to live Somewhere stable to live Helping everyone who is homeless now Read more. Help to keep a home Help to keep a home Making sure people have the right support when they need it Read more.

Preventing homelessness Preventing homelessness Doing all we can to stop people losing their homes Read more. What it'll take What it'll take Showing how to make this a reality Read more.

When we know that there are things we can do so that people avoid experiencing homelessness, how can we wait? Ending homelessness means working together to ensure that people are quickly, safely, and adequately housed and supported. For more than two decades, emergency services in the forms of soup kitchens and shelters, have been the dominant response to homelessness.

In fact, these responses can trap people in homelessness and make it very difficult to become safely and securely housed. In the last decade, Canadian policies and practices have begun to shift from managing homelessness to finding solutions. The Framework maps out the evidence for preventing homelessness before it begins, or moving people out of homelessness quickly, by providing people with immediate access to housing.

Ultimately, prevention efforts are key to ending homelessness. It is made up of policies and strategies that impact homelessness at the structural and systemic levels, as well as early intervention practices that address individual and situational factors. The public health model of prevention , developed in the s by Leavell and Clark, is a useful way to think about how prevention works.

This model has been used in health care and health promotion to prevent cancer, diabetes, strokes, and smoking, to name a few. Later, it was adapted to prevent societal issues, such as crime and violence. Likewise, the Framework adapts the public health model to guide the implementation of homelessness prevention. It is crucial that we understand the various complex and interconnected causes of homelessness so that we can direct legislation, policy, and practices appropriately.

The causes of homelessness can be broken down into three categories:. For homelessness prevention to be successful, several sectors must take responsibility and work together. The homelessness sector, such as non-profit organizations, are often seen as being solely responsible for homelessness. But in order to actually prevent homelessness, we need other systems to reach out to and support people before they are in crisis. Sectors like the health, justice, child protection, housing, and education systems, all have a major role to play in housing stability.

Homelessness prevention strategies include multiple systems and all forms of government, and collaboration between different departments and institutions to address the drivers of homelessness. Research on homelessness prevention demonstrates that prevention strategies succeed in reducing homelessness.