StreetLink partners with StreetVet and Street Paws to better support individuals sleeping rough and their pets
On August 17th, we recognised International Homeless Animals Day, which highlighted the urgent need to address the challenges faced by millions of animals living without a home or access to medical care. These animals are often vulnerable and in need of essential support and protection.
For many experiencing homelessness, their pets are a crucial source of companionship and comfort. However, accessing veterinary care and pet-friendly accommodations can be extremely challenging while living on the streets. In response, StreetLink, StreetVet, and Street Paws have partnered to provide the necessary care and support for both homeless individuals and their animal companions.
Identifying individuals with pets through StreetLink
StreetLink’s mission is to connect individuals sleeping rough across England and Wales with the vital support services they need. It does this by enabling members of the public and those sleeping rough to submit an alert.
A key part of this collaborative approach is StreetLink's enhanced online platform, which now allows the public and individuals sleeping rough to indicate if they have a pet or animal companion when self-referring for support services. This addition enables StreetLink to quickly identify situations where an individual and their animal may require support from StreetVet or Street Paws.
Working alongside StreetVet
StreetVet, a national charity which is also a registered veterinary practice has helped care for more than 2,800 pets across the UK. StreetVet provides free essential veterinary care and services directly to the pets of those experiencing homelessness. Their team of over 600 volunteer vets and nurses take the practice to the pavement and have performed more than 10,200 consultations. They provide check-ups, vaccinations, microchipping, preventative care, and also supply daily pet essentials like food, harnesses, collars and toys. If a pet needs more complex treatment or surgery, StreetVet will get the pet booked into a veterinary practice and cover the costs.
StreetVet also operates the StreetVet Accredited Hostel Scheme, working with temporary accommodation providers across the UK to make more hostels pet-friendly. For any organisation that joins the scheme, StreetVet helps with pet policies, an e-learning platform for hostel staff as well as providing free veterinary care and services and daily pet essentials to StreetVet registered pets in those establishments.
Through this collaboration, when an individual sleeping rough self-refers via StreetLink's digital platform and indicates they have a pet in need their alert is also sent to StreetVet for their clinical team to investigate, to ensure the animal receives any necessary treatment. This collaborative approach allows us to address the interconnected needs of individuals and their pets.
Joining forces with Street Paws
Since its inception in 2016 Street Paws has worked directly with pet owners experiencing homelessness to change the way they access services and ensure no one is forced to choose between their pet and a safe place to sleep. Their outreach work allowed them to understand the larger needs of homeless pet owners, leading them to pioneer the Dog Champion Scheme; partnering with hostels to support them in becoming pet friendly.
Led by the needs of their clients, Street Paws offers free veterinary treatment and training to encourage responsible pet ownership. They provide check-ups, vaccinations, microchipping, preventative care, as well as essential pet supplies. Any pet registered to the Dog Champion Scheme will be able to access one to one support from the Street Paws team who can arrange more involved veterinary treatment at no cost when needed.
Street Paws recognises the need to help change the system not just treat the symptom. Their team are on hand to signpost clients to support services and assist homeless pet owners to find accommodation, thus breaking the homelessness cycle.
Street Paws operates across the North of England and will receive alerts from StreetLink's self-referral option when a pet owner experiencing homelessness is referred. This connection to Street Paws' resources, empowers individuals to access the services they need in addition to vital vet care.
A collaborative approach to a complex issue
By combining StreetLink, StreetVet and Street Paws efforts, we’re taking a major step towards providing comprehensive support for individuals and pets living on the streets. We understand that the challenges of homelessness are complex and require multifaceted solutions.
These new partnerships will allow us to holistically address the diverse needs of this vulnerable population in a more effective and compassionate manner.
We invite local authorities, outreach teams and the general public to join us in this collective effort by reporting individuals sleeping rough via our digital platform and indicating if a pet is present.
Together, we can ensure that no person or pet is left behind on the path out of homelessness and towards stability.
For more information on how to get involved or to learn about reporting rough sleeping effectively, please visit thestreetlink.org.uk
Thames Reach's mission to end rough sleeping in London
In this insightful contribution, Charley Matthews, manager of the Thames Reach City of London Outreach team, shares the profound work being done in partnership with StreetLink to support individuals experiencing rough sleeping.
I’m Charley Matthews, the manager of the Thames Reach City of London Outreach team. Our team works to support people who are sleeping rough in the City of London (‘the Square Mile’) to find accommodation and bring an end to their homelessness. We carry out shifts on the streets every day of the year, identifying people who need our help and offering them a route off the streets as quickly as possible.
Identification and verification
There are two main strands to our work: our shifts and our ongoing casework. Our shifts either run in the early morning or in the late evening, so that we are meeting people at the place where they are sleeping. During these shifts we are often responding to referrals we have received from StreetLink, visiting sites where members of the public or local partners have seen people sleeping rough. When we meet someone, we ask them some questions to assess what support they might need and what the quickest route to housing would be for them.
The process of an Outreach team meeting someone bedded down as rough sleeping is called ‘verification’. This gives someone a profile on the Pan-London rough sleeping database, CHAIN. There are some resources and accommodation options that are reserved for people who are verified as rough sleepers.
Meeting the individual’s needs
When someone is rough sleeping in the City of London they are allocated to a worker in our team. The professional works with the person to identify a housing solution that works for them and supports them to access other services that might be preventing them from accessing or sustaining accommodation. We work closely with a wide range of partners including those in mental health, employment, drug & alcohol support, immigration advice, & primary health. A significant part of our work includes supporting people to navigate the paperwork for welfare benefits, access to banking, and obtaining identification.
The individuals we support have a diverse range of backgrounds and needs. Some have become homeless due to precarious employment breaking down and only require brief support to regain stability. For others their homelessness is more long-term and has its roots in adverse childhood experiences, resulting in a frequently complex picture of overlapping support needs which can make it very difficult for them to access housing and support. Particularly for this group, often a number of failed attempts to support the person have already been made by different agencies over their life, for example by social services, health teams, or other outreach teams. Understandably, this can leave the person feeling let down by support services, and unwilling to trust a new team to succeed in supporting their change where others have failed.
Sometimes, individuals referred to StreetLink might initially be hesitant to work with us. This can be for various reasons, including their readiness to accept help, their preference for resources or shelter, mental health challenges, or unique personal circumstances. However, once we know that someone is sleeping rough, we continue to return and offer our support, having clear and honest conversations about what their quickest route away from the streets will be. We change this route if a person's needs change, and we never close a case for a person who is actively rough sleeping.
We try our best to work with people in a way which puts them at the centre of their own support. This means that when we’re working, we’re responding to the person in front of us, and tailoring our work to what each person wants and needs.
What success looks like
As a team, we’re very busy, usually working with 90-100 individuals at a time. Success for us comes in lots of different ways: it can be supporting a someone into emergency accommodation as soon as they’ve been verified, or it can be supporting someone else return to and resettle in a location or community where they have a network of support.
The vital role of StreetLink
StreetLink is at the core of our work. It allows us to identify and locate people who need our support in a rapid and efficient way. The more detail a referrer can put into their referral in terms of location and identifying information, the more likely that we as a team are able to find them.
Help us make a difference
Rough sleeping in the City of London has been increasing, as it has been across the UK, as the housing crisis deepens housing becomes more difficult to access and more precarious. Outreach teams often act as the support service of last resort. Using StreetLink is a great way for you to participate in our work, and to support people who are sleeping rough to get rapid and personalised help. If you’d like to find out more about the work that we do, you can join us as a volunteer on our Outreach shifts by volunteering with Thames Reach here: https://thamesreach.org.uk/support-us/volunteer/.
Home Connections will be exhibiting at CIH Scotland's Housing Festival 2024
We are excited to announce, Home Connections will be exhibiting once again at this year's CIH Scotland's Housing Festival!
Scotland's biggest housing event has been reimagined so that housing professionals from across Scotland and the UK can come together for thought-provoking sessions with plenty of innovation and collaboration. You can see the full programme here.
CIH Scotland's Housing Festival 2024
Date: 05-06 March 2024
Location: SEC Glasgow, Exhibition Way, Glasgow, G3 8YW
Time: 08:30 - 16:00
Already a CIH member? Secure your free place: https://www.cih.org/events/shf-2024
Where can you find Home Connections?
You’ll find us at Stand 28. Come and visit Home Connections to discuss the current housing challenges facing the sector and how we can collaborate to ensure your housing system is able to meet these challenges head-on, through flexibility and high functionality.
Can you #CrackTheCode?
Visit us at Stand 28 to have a chance to win an Instax Mini Link Smartphone Printer or an Echo Pop Smart Speaker With Alexa!
All you need to do is guess the unique combination code to open the safe and unlock one of the prizes.
Home Connections & LocalGov Drupal: Doing more with less
We are in a digital age where government organisations are under increasing pressure to provide efficient and transparent services. At Home Connections, we have relaunched 35 websites, powered by Drupal LocalGov, embodying the theme of "doing more with less"
LocalGov Drupal, a content management system tailored specifically for the public sector, equips organisations with a robust platform that enhances communication, collaboration, and accessibility.
Home Connections, a leading non-profit software solutions provider and social enterprise uses this CMS for all the websites it develops, manages and maintains for housing associations, local authorities and public organisations.
Home Connection’s decision to work with Drupal LocalGov is a strategic move towards achieving higher levels of efficiency and cost-effectiveness in delivering services. The built-in capabilities of Drupal LocalGov mean that developers spend less time on the basics and more time implementing custom features.
By choosing Drupal LocalGov, our customers can not only improve their services but also set an example for other public bodies looking to optimise their digital presence in a budget-conscious world.
Cost-effective solutions
In the face of budget constraints and the ever-present need to make the best use of resources, the LocalGov Drupal allows the public sector to "do more with less."
With its open-source nature, LocalGov Drupal eliminates the need for costly licensing fees and reduces ongoing maintenance expenses. This cost-effective approach ensures that resources can be allocated where needed, such as improving public services and infrastructure.
Accessibility
One of the primary benefits of LGD is its commitment to accessibility
All our websites are designed with inclusivity in mind, ensuring that information and services are available to everyone, regardless of their abilities or the devices they use. This inclusive approach not only complies with legal standards but also reflects each organisation's dedication to serving all citizens.
Robust security and compliance
Security and data privacy are paramount for the public sector. LocalGov Drupal places a strong emphasis on security, providing the necessary tools and features to safeguard sensitive information.
Compliance with data protection regulations is made easier, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring the public's trust is maintained. These features are at the core of LocalGov Drupal, allowing development teams to spend time on other key priorities.
Simple content management
The LocalGov framework simplifies content management, enabling our customers to keep their websites up-to-date and relevant. LocalGov's intuitive content editing tools make it easier than ever to ensure that the public has access to the latest information, policies, and resources.
Sustainability
Our commitment extends to environmental sustainability. By adopting the LocalGov Drupal we help contribute to a greener future. The open-source nature of Drupal minimises the environmental footprint associated with proprietary software development. In addition, the framework's efficiency helps reduce server loads and energy consumption.
Visit our latest website to launch, Crown Estate Scotland
Explore all of our LocalGov Drupal-powered customer websites.
Learn more about our web design and hosting services.
Haringey case study - Improving tenants' knowledge through e-learning
Homes for Haringey approached us to build an online training module that would help the organisation to reduce time spent by housing officers on face-to-face meetings, while still empowering customers to make informed-based housing choices. Through our new EazyLearn platform, we helped Homes for Haringey achieve their goal to create an innovative e-learning platform that could be easily used by the end-customers.
Beverly Faulkner, Head of Housing Needs at Homes for Haringey told us the reasons behind their vision, experience with the project delivery, benefits of the platform and more! Read this short interview below:
Why did Haringey’s housing department need an E-Learning system?
We were previously offering face-to-face tenancy training workshops which were resource-heavy. They took time to organise, and many of our customers found it difficult to attend due to childcare or work commitments. The need to create a Personalised Housing Plan for each customer also meant that we had to review our capacity to offer face-to-face training to significantly more people, and we considered other ways to deliver this. The majority of our customers will need to consider moving to the private sector to resolve their housing need. We wanted to ensure that they were prepared for this. Therefore, we decided to create e-learning for customers that we could include as an action for them to complete in their Personalised Housing Plan.
What are the benefits of implementing the E-Learning system for the end-users and housing officers?
There are incredible benefits in using e-learning. For Housing Needs Officers, it means that they can ensure their customers are ‘tenancy ready’, which is a great selling point for prospective landlords. For our customers, they can feel assured that they know the pitfalls of the private sector and understand their rights when privately renting. Completing our e-learning course is sometimes the first time a customer has accessed online training. To facilitate that first certificate is a great way to empower them.
We have always been impressed with Home Connections ‘can do’ attitude, efficiency and value for money. They are also great partners to work with on innovative projects
What made you approach Home Connections for a solution?
We have worked with Home Connections on several projects over the years and have always been impressed with their ‘can do’ attitude, efficiency and value for money. Home Connections are also great partners to work with on innovative projects such as this where they were able to realise a vision that we had.
Which aspects of the system are the most helpful for housing officers and why?
The system is easy to use in terms of user experience and the back-office admin. It only takes a couple of minutes to set a new user up and get them enrolled on a course. The Housing Needs Officers have real-time access to a dashboard to monitor progress. They can track when the course gets completed and upload the certificate onto our document retention system. EazyLearn can be set-up to send automatic reminders to customers if they haven’t started or completed the course.
How did you find the process of system delivery?
System delivery was smooth and rapid. We worked closely with a developer from Home Connections who kept us informed at all the key points. We have good communications with our project manager. Overall, Home Connections performance was fab!
With 97% of our customers reporting that the first module will lead to them putting what they have learnt into practice, we feel confident that the investment in this piece of work is worthwhile.
What are your immediate plans for the EazyLearn system and the longer-term ambitions?
Our immediate plan is to roll out the second module, focused on tenancy sustainment. Longer-term, we want to explore using a range of modules for different scenarios, for example, a specific online course for customers moving to social housing. With 97% of our customers reporting that the first module will lead to them putting what they have learnt into practice, we feel confident that the investment in this piece of work is worthwhile.
Ninesh Muthiah, CEO of Home Connections said: “This universal and innovative e-learning solution can be used in such a wide range of scenarios, it might just be a way forward in this ‘new normal’ way of living and working. Many people are finding the lockdown has put extra pressure on tenancies, incomes and relationships. Our e-learning platform can offer free advice, support and a degree of reassurance. Most importantly, it is a resource-free way to share knowledge with a large numbers of applicants, helping obtain realistic expectations about their potential housing outcomes”
Read more about EazyLearn and book a FREE demo today!
Providers need to consider rightsizing approaches as a long-term solution to address supply shortfalls
Under and over-occupation have been highlighted as an issue within the housing sector for decades. Occupancy issues have been exacerbated by the undersupply of social housing, leading to limited housing choice, and mobility, for social housing tenants over and under-occupying. Rightsizing can be a solution for providers to address demand and occupancy issues within their existing stock.
Under-occupancy in social housing
In total, 9.3 million households under-occupy their property (39% of all households). In social housing, 10% of social renters under-occupy their homes. In contrast, only 3% of households (732,000) in England are over-occupied. Of these, 44.5% live in the social rented sector (making up 8% of social rented households, or 325,000 households).
Ageing population and under-occupancy
The UK has an ageing population, with Census 2021 confirming there are more people than ever in older age groups.[1] 16% live in the social rented sector[2] and are the largest age group in the social rental tenure (28% of all households).[3]
Within general needs social housing, 40% of under-occupied homes are over-65 households, compared to 4% of under-occupied properties that are under-35.[4] Figures from the Office of National Statistics in 2018 highlight that the number of people over the age of 65 is forecast to increase by 27% by 2035. By 2050, one in four people in the UK will be in 65+ age group.[5]
Under-occupying households downsizing their homes would significantly free up larger housing and could reduce the number of over-occupied households. Whilst there is demand from the 65 and over age group to downsize, the current number of people downsizing does not reflect this. In light of this, the drivers for households and individuals to rightsize are important for organisations to understand and consider.
Social housing supply and demand
The social housing sector is shrinking as a proportion of all dwellings. Data on dwellings by tenure shows that the number of homes available for rent from social housing providers in England has fallen by 6.4% since 1997, from 4.3 to 4.1 million homes. It has shrunk from 21% of all dwellings in England in 1997 to 17% in 2022.[6]
Changes in supply have affected the number of properties available to let, with the number of new social lettings in 2021/22 (267,000) falling 38% from a recent peak in 2013/14 (396,000 new lettings).[7] Local authority waiting lists for social housing in England are growing, with 19,000 households joining from 2021 to 2022, a 2% increase.
Over time, there has been a corresponding increase in over-occupation in social housing. In the last decade, EHS data shows a 31% increase in number of social housing households over-occupying, from 249,000 in 2011/12 to 325,000 in 2021/22.[8]
Sources
- ONS (2022) Voices of our ageing population: Living longer lives
- Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (2022) English Housing Survey 2021-22 Headline Report. (accessed: 15/12/2022)
- Ibid
- Drew, L. (2022) Right sizing could be the answer to the housing crisis. Inside Housing, 13th July.
- ONS (2018) Subnational population projections for England. (accessed: 02/12/2022)
- Altair analysis of Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Live Table 104, Dwelling stock: by tenure, England (historical series)
-
DLUHC (2023) Social Housing Lettings: April 2021 to March 2022
-
Altair calculation from English Housing Survey 2021-22, Annex Table 1.24: Overcrowding, by tenure, 1995-96 to 2021-2
What is the solution?
It is evident that demand for social housing is outstripping supply. Local authorities and housing associations will therefore need to consider alternative approaches to addressing demand, such as rightsizing.
The difficulty for social housing providers is the time and resource required to match households and create an effective chain through moves that might take place through rightsizing schemes, such as mutual exchanges. Therefore, ensuring the elements of a provider’s rightsizing package address the needs and preferences of its residents is essential to maximising the efficiency of the solution.
Written by Will Morley, Consultant at Altair Ltd
Home Connections develop new mutual exchange tracking system with House Exchange
In the world of housing, collaboration and efficient resource allocation are vital to meet the diverse needs of residents. We are thrilled to announce MEx Connections, a cutting-edge solution designed to streamline the mutual exchange process for housing providers. In this blog, we will explore the key features and benefits of this innovative system, created in collaboration with leading non-profit mutual exchange system, House Exchange.
Simplifying the mutual exchange process
The traditional mutual exchange process can be complex and time-consuming, often involving extensive paperwork, countless Excel spreadsheets and inefficient communication channels. MEx Connections simplifies this process by offering an innovative online system, where you can record and track all mutual exchange transactions at ease.
Real-time updates
An intuitive dashboard will provide you with a snapshot of all mutual exchange transactions, showing their real-time status. MEx Connections features an automatic region countdown indicator to help you hit targets. From tenancy checks, inspections, exchange process review and confirmation, you can track the status of each exchange effortlessly.
Secure and confidential communication
Our system prioritises data security, offering secure communication channels for you to exchange messages, upload documents, and other relevant information directly with tenants. The tenants will have access to a communications portal, available 24/7, where they can upload their documents and keep track of their exchange request.
We have robust privacy measures in place so you can use your system with peace of mind, knowing your data is protected and will not be transferred out of the UK under any circumstances. Home Connections is fully accredited by ISO 9001 and ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certified.
In-depth reporting feature
MEx Connections also provides an in-depth reporting feature that enables you to build a wide range of reports, using fields from the application form and other filters. These reports can allow you to identify trends, make data-driven decisions, and continuously improve your mutual exchange processes.
100% non-for-profit
MEx Connections was designed by two organisations that share a core value: not-for-profit. Any income generated are fully reinvested in our companies, software and solutions that transforms the housing sector for the better and allow partners to deliver efficiencies against their housing objectives.
Conclusion
With the new Mutual Exchange Connections tracking portal, you will revolutionise how to process mutual exchange transactions and foster more efficient resource allocation. By leveraging intelligent automation, real-time updates, secure communication channels, and insightful analytics, you will stay ahead of the game, shortener home swapping processes and enhance tenancy satisfaction. Contact us today to learn more about our Mutual Exchange Tracker System and how it can benefit your organisation.
Ready to open the doors for tenants who wish to move home?
House Exchange is the largest not for profit mutual exchange system on the market. They specialise in facilitating introductions between council or housing association tenants who are looking to swap their home. Almost two million residents access their website for free nationwide. Find out more about House Exchange and how they can help you increase mobility for your tenants.