‘Housing first’ project is successfully taking people off the streets

Sheffield City Council’s ‘Housing First’ programme has managed to house over 30 rough sleepers since it was launched.

Set up in December 2020, the Housing First programme was created to find homes for people who have been repeatedly homeless and has settled 38 tenants – a rate of almost two per month.

Sheffield City Council is providing the accommodation for the scheme, which relies on multi-agency support for its success.

Rachael Martin, Housing Solutions Officer at the council said: ‘It’s really exciting when we take someone to view a flat for the first time.

‘You can see them imagining what it would be like to live there and it’s so much fun setting it up with them and making it feel like a home.’

As well as providing homeless people with a stable home, Housing First also assists people with everyday tasks such as arranging health appointments and going food shopping.

Sheffield’s organisation also helps individuals settle into their new communities by helping them sign up to local clubs and activities.

The council’s project has recently been awarded £1.5m from the government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative meaning it has now bene guaranteed until at least May 2025.

Will McGahey, Housing First Team Manager, said: ‘It’s satisfying to see how many people we’ve already helped especially when lots of our customers have never had a home of their own before.

The team does incredible work and it’s our aim to grow and help even more people over the next few years.’

Cllr Douglas Johnson, Chair of the Housing Policy Committee said: ‘Having a place to call home is an important first step for people that have been sleeping rough to rebuild their lives.

‘Housing First has already made a big difference in Sheffield and the guarantee of extra funding will allow our hard-working officers to keep helping some of the most vulnerable people for many years to come.’

With the cost-of-living crisis causing the rates of homelessness to rise, projects like Housing First are more than appreciated.

According to the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities, in March 2022 there was an 11.3% increase in households seeking homelessness prevention or relief from their council.

The department recorded 133,460 families being affected by the rise of inflation and the number of households with dependent children becoming homeless rose by 23.6% from March 2021 – March 2022.

Photo by Mark Stuckey