Homeless Network Scotland launch new support programme to help housing first branch out across Scotland

Homeless Network Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Government and support from World Habitat’s Innovation Fund, has updated the national framework to start-up and scale out Housing First in Scotland. Branching Out is the National Framework for housing first in Scotland. It provides a ‘how to and why’ guide for all sectors planning, commissioning, and delivering Housing First.

As a key partner for Glasgow in the European End Street Homelessness Campaign, Homeless Network Scotland have supported the development of Housing First – initially in the city of Glasgow – and then through the national policy objective to ensure that the people with the most challenging experiences of homelessness get housing first and fast. Housing First provides ordinary, settled housing as a first response for people whose homelessness is made harder by experiences such as trauma, addiction, and mental ill health.

In a new animated video, funded through World Habitat’s Innovation Fund, Homeless Network Scotland outline the four key pillars of their work that support Housing First to branch out across the country:

• Housing First Connect;
• Housing First Know-how;
• Housing First Check-up; and
• the Housing First Academy (delivered in partnership with Turning Point Scotland).

You can view the video here, and read about their work here.

Douglas Gibson, Programme Manager at Homeless Network Scotland said:

“Housing First is now live across most council areas in Scotland and the national Pathfinder Programme – and earlier local pilots – have provided a substantial pool of evidence and expertise across the country. Now national policy, Scotland is well placed to scale-up the delivery and impact of Housing First in the years ahead.

“With this infrastructure and its four pillars in place, the right support is available to anyone starting and scaling up Housing First. The National Framework provides a comprehensive cross-sector guide, and the Check-Up process is designed so that local authorities, housing providers, third sector partners and tenants can co-produce how Housing First is delivered, reviewed, and refined in their area.”

Patrick Duce, Programme Lead (Homelessness) at World Habitat, said:

“World Habitat specialises in finding and supporting innovative housing solutions across the world. We know that housing first can be an effective solution to chronic homelessness and are very happy to continue to support the work of Homeless Network Scotland.

“This short, animated film outlines how they will help housing first continue to grow across Scotland. The roll out of housing first in Scotland is a beacon for other countries to follow across Europe, particularly in taking an effective housing solution from a city response to a collective national framework.”