Support for Support

The National Housing Federation is currently running a campaign, Save Our Supported Housing.

Its not helped by the terminology, outside of the social housing I wonder if anyone knows what supported housing is. It conjures up images of tumbling ruins propped up by wooden beams. However, it is not the housing which is supported, it is the residents.

There is further confusion as there are many varying levels of support covering a wide range of circumstances and conditions. Also, some organisations include housing for older people in their definition of supported housing even when there is no support, i.e. its bungalows or flats restricted to older people, which scarily often means people over 55, a milestone I have long since passed.

At my association Elim we provide ‘supported housing’ on ‘homeless pathways.’ Local authorities commission these, and they are called pathways because there are projects with varying levels of support which theoretically people move through as their needs reduce to the final destination of independent living. Elim provides housing on these pathways in three local authorities, Bristol, Gloucester, and South Gloucestershire. In Bristol we have homes on the families, women’s, and men’s pathways. The people in these properties have needs beyond just needing a home and are allocated a support worker to help them with those issues and also help prepare them for living in their own flat or house when they live our homes.

Supported housing is expensive to provide, because it requires a much higher level of staffing than general rented housing and the properties can sustain more damage for a whole load of reasons. This means that local authorities often help pay the costs of running the services. For a while there was a national fund most recently called ‘Supporting People’ which was devolved to local authorities and protected by a ringfence. The ringfence disappeared many years ago and the funds were often absorbed into the much larger adult social care budget. Across the country supported housing projects are closing just as homelessness is rising.

The NHF campaign does include housing for older people and based upon research suggests that 170,000 more homes will be needed by 2040. In the case of older people this could dramatically reduce the need for more expensive hospital or care home facilities.

The cost of providing this is expensive, the NHF estimate £34bn for capital and £3.4bn annually for revenue, eye watering sums, however the cost of not investing could be so much higher.