The Crisis Best Practice Team supports practical solutions that end homelessness.

We work with anyone who can play their part – from Crisis services to local authorities, and police forces to the Department for Work and Pensions.

But some of our proudest work is investing £3.6 million in local homelessness organisations over the last three years. That’s 250 grants, supporting over 200 organisations from all corners of the UK.

We know we're stronger together.

What progress has been made?

We are extremely grateful to all our grantees for reporting the progress of their projects. While much is captured in our formal evaluations, providing a platform for organisations to learn from each other along the way is also a key part of our grant giving.

We recently had our first group catch-up with Best Practice 2022 grantees, the 10 organisations funded in our latest round of grants (thanks to players of the People's Postcode Lottery).

Their projects are preventing homelessness and prioritising access to housing despite systemic challenges at both local and national levels.

Why is this needed?

The main problem for homelessness services is a chronic shortage of appropriate housing. While this manifests differently in local areas, across Great Britain, we hear of people increasingly facing little or no options when it comes to a secure and settled route out of homelessness.

For example, Anawim talked about how its Housing Officer supports women trapped in unsuitable and unregulated exempt accommodation in Birmingham. Non-UK nationals supported by EYST in South Wales are being placed in emergency accommodation as far away as London, miles from support networks and communities.

Cornwall’s rural geography and poor transport links are already a challenge for St Petrocs’ Prevent and Retain project, and a shift of private rented sector (PRS) stock to short-term holiday lets puts further pressure on available properties.

On top of spiralling PRS rents and a lack of housing options, other rising costs of living are pushing more people towards homelessness.

One of our London-based grantees, Settle, who meets a gap in services for young people leaving care, is increasing its emergency hardship fund to cover rising costs.

What are the solutions?

Every one of our Best Practice 2022 grantees is doing remarkable work to overcome these challenges. We know local interventions can rework the homelessness system and give people the tools and options to leave it behind for good.

For many of our grantees, flexible, person-centred services are key. 

For example, women from the EU supported by Manchester’s The Booth Centre are front and centre of all decisions when being supported into employment and stable tenancies. Coventry Haven helps children moving on from refuge accommodation and say ongoing support and continued contact are central to success. Positive Action in Housing empower people in Scotland to navigate the complexity and anxiety of the immigration system from the safety of a host home.

In Sunderland, Back on the Map is looking at wider systems and structures and rebalancing the local housing market by investing in community housing. It takes a proactive approach to coach people to become part of the community and sustain their tenancies.

All our grantees also spoke about the importance of partnerships. Particularly the benefits of a good relationship with the local authority and Housing Officers, alleviating collective strains on capacity and resource.

Open Door Scotland has created local forums in its Community Outreach Project, which has improved joint working and outcomes for the people it supports. In North Wales, DASU’s IRIS programme is providing domestic abuse training for GP surgeries and improving referrals to its service.

What’s next? 

We look forward to publishing a full evaluation report from this cohort, as well as for our Home For All and Best Practice 2020 grantees. These findings will influence our service development and our policy and campaigning work.

We know that best practice is an ambitious and moveable goal. We hope to jointly work towards it by sharing and learning from each other as we go.

Find out more

You can learn about our Best Practice 2022 grantees and some of the other projects we fund on our interactive map.

Learn about the projects

If you have any questions or want to find out more, get in touch with the team at bestpractice@crisis.org.uk.

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