'Better partnerships needed' to tackle homelessness problem

More and better partnerships are the key to unlocking the future for many homeless people, according to speakers at a Homeless Link conference in London today.

Lisa Barker, Deputy Director of Homelessness & Housing Management with Communities & Local Government (CLG), told the Move On conference delegates that everyone had a collective role to play: Government, the Housing Corporation, Supporting People commissioners, local authority employees, and voluntary sector providers.

"The first box to tick," she said, "is to make sure all residents have move on and support plans."

Prioritising this, she added, should not be difficult "when you explain to an authority about the costs - the costs in terms of their housing benefit bill as well as the costs in terms of their Supporting People bill - if they do not work with providers to free up hostel spaces for those who really need them at that particular time."

Chris Holmesm of the Housing Corporation, agreed on the need to prioritise move on.

Talking about the successes of Homeless Link's recently completed Move On Plans Protocol (MOPP) pilot project, he said: "It's important to build on lessons from MOPP to increase access to housing association homes. All housing associations should have action plans on homelessness that include provisions for move on accommodation and supported housing."

Launched with support from CLG in September 2005, MOPP was a direct response to Homeless Link's findings that, at any given time, 45% of hostel spaces are taken by people more than ready for the next stage of independent living who have nowhere to go.

Findings from the pilot project were shared today with local authority and voluntary sector delegates from all over England.

Jenny Edwards, chief executive of Homeless Link, said: "If we want to end homelessness in this country, eliminating the move on obstacle is critical. Leaving people languishing in hostels is a not just a waste of money, but a waste of lives."

Nine areas took part in the MOPP pilot project: Brighton, Bristol, Herefordshire, Lambeth, Oxford, Plymouth, Wakefield, Westminster and York.

Diane Smith, senior homeless manager of Look Ahead, a voluntary sector partner in Westminster, said: "To give just one example of the benefits of our enhanced partnership with the local authority, we have succeeded in placing a 71-year-old man in his own home for the first time in his life. This was a man everyone assumed would end his days in a hostel. People thought it couldn't be done."

City of York Council resettlement services manager Tim Carroll, another pilot project participant said: "One of the biggest surprises for me when we were approached by Homeless Link to take part in MOPP was discovering that the level of co-operation that already existed in York between the local authority and the voluntary sector wasn't the standard operating procedure throughout the country. This made no sense to me."

Delegates at today's conference benefited from a sneak preview of the many lessons learnt from the MOPP project.

Next month Homeless Link will submit a full report to CLG on the project, including a MOPP tool kit which can be used by any local authority and an assessment of national barriers identified, along with proposed solutions to these problems. 

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