Following our work supporting local emergency responses, we’ve developed a new toolkit with a range of practical resources and guidance for local areas transitioning from their emergency arrangements for people experiencing homelessness.

A continuing need

As we launch our Home for All campaign this week, there is a recognition that despite the rapid progress made in recent months, we are still some way from our aim of everyone across Great Britain having the security of a safe and settled home. 

National governments have turned their attention to the next phase of the pandemic with English local authorities required to submit “initial next steps plans” by the 4th or 11th June and for Welsh authorities, “Phase 2 transition plans” by the end of June. Scottish authorities are entering a process of reconciling the impact and legacy of COVID-19 with the ongoing implementation of their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans (RRTP).

We produced an open-access toolkit to support local authorities with their emergency response to COVID-19 and more recently a self-assessment tool with Pathway and Groundswell to help areas “sense-check” their response to date for people experiencing homelessness. As we move through this next phase, there is a clear need for our new toolkit with resources and guidance to translate the broader theories of how things should be working, with operational realities on the ground. The toolkit includes guidance, assessment tools, templates, protocols and much more from us and partners across the sector.

Navigating the toolkit

The transition process should continue to be a clinical, health-led response to manage ongoing risk during the next phases of the pandemic. We believe it should also start a shift to a more comprehensive housing-led system that improves local resilience to homelessness. Housing-led approaches (see image below from Social Bite) help people access settled, mainstream housing as quickly as possible. Time spent in any form of temporary accommodation is reduced to a minimum, with the fewer transitions the better. You can see our overarching principles and guidance to support local transition planning for more detail.

The resources on the toolkit will be grouped into four key areas to support navigation and reflect the different steps in the transition process:

• Build a shared understanding of what everyone needs and wants
• Develop housing-led solutions and pathways
• Implement a costed transition plan/ strategy
• Take proactive steps to prevent homelessness during and after the pandemic 

Further updates and development

The toolkit will be maintained and updated so please check back regularly. You can access our roadmap for latest plans and content. We are always keen to collaborate, hear and learn from local areas so please get in touch, especially if you have something we can share and promote.