Helping to address homelessness in our communities has always been part of what we do. We’ve worked in partnership with local authorities and charitable organisations to ease homelessness in the region, as well as increase the supply of affordable housing to help tackle homelessness in the long-term.
Current partnerships and initiatives
- Between June and August 2020, we worked with our partners to make safe homes available for people experiencing homelessness. 108 accommodation offers were made to homeless households, exceeding the 26-home ‘immediate response’ objective.
- In Bristol, we’ve launched a Housing First pilot at our Speedwell development with support providers, Golden Key. Two of the six units follow the Housing First principles with the remaining four homes let to homeless households with less pronounced support needs.
- We’re working in partnership with Southampton City Council on plans to develop modular container homes to address the gap in Southampton’s housing pathway.
- We’ve completed lease back of four homes to Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead for homeless people through a bespoke license.
Piloting Housing First
Giving as many people as possible a safe, warm and sustainable home is really important to us. And in September 2020, we launched our Housing First pilot in Bristol.
We’ve worked closely with our partners at Bristol City Council and Golden Key to allocate suitable homes and provide a package of wraparound support to provide the best chances of sustaining tenancies. Through this pilot we’re learning more about what we need to offer, alongside partners, to help people stay in their home.
Our residents are at the heart of this project. This isn’t about ending homelessness for them temporarily but helping them to take that first step – finding a suitable home, providing additional support – that then leads to long-term security away from rough sleeping.
A sense of belonging to a community is important too. And we’ve seen a resident become friends with their neighbour. That sense of community cohesion, of getting to know those who live nearby, feeds into a happy, healthy home life. We hope to see more of this as the programme goes on.
A resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “Abri are the first housing association that have offered me this. The staff are nice, the house is nice and I love the area. I feel really happy and independent. I do not ever want to leave my home or change anything about it.”
