IA2865 High Level Supported Accommodation and Coproduction

Stafford Borough Council submitted a bid to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for Rough Sleeper Initiative 2022 - 2025 funding for two inter-related projects. The first project is for six units of high-level supported accommodation that will form part of the local rough sleeper pathway. This pathway will contribute to ending rough sleeping in Stafford by 2025 and increase the housing options available to individuals with multiple and complex needs who are rough sleeping, or at risk of rough sleeping. The overall aim of the project is to get individuals with a history of rough sleeping or repeat homelessness into sustainable accommodation, with tailored support that addresses underlying needs. The approach will provide strength-based solutions and ongoing support so that no one has to spend a night on our streets and instances of rough sleeping and repeat homelessness will be reduced. The second project is a coproduction model that will engage the voices of those with lived experience, involving the hardest to reach rough sleepers so their views and experiences become an integral element in developing services for people. To end rough sleeping, we need to shift the balance of power, listen to the voices of those with lived experience and adapt our services and strategies accordingly. This will not take place overnight but requires long-term commitment to gain trust, expertise and provide a platform for genuine change. Stafford Borough has a core group of between 10 - 15 individuals who experience repeat homelessness and rough sleeping. This group are very well known to local services, often exhausting existing service provision within mental health, offender management and substance misuse services, with inconsistent levels of engagement and often poor service outcomes. Chaotic lifestyles and unaddressed support needs have a direct impact on the person’s ability to maintain secure housing, resulting in several failed housing placements and high levels of repeat homelessness - leaving little or no local housing options. Existing provision of supported accommodation within the Borough is limited in number and provides only low to medium level support which does not meet the needs of this cohort. Local partnerships have committed to providing cross-sector support for rough sleepers to encourage opportunities for engagement, but suitable accommodation is essential for this to work, recognising that not everyone is ready for the responsibility of self-contained, housing first style accommodation. This cohort require the additional support that high level supported accommodation provides. If Stafford Borough are to end rough sleeping, flexible accommodation and support services that are tailored to the individual needs of the person and seek to address underlying causes of homelessness are essential.