Beyond Homelessness - An Overview
Funding has been awarded by the Big Lottery Fund for a three year study into the current housing support services available to those at risk of or affected by homelessness across Scotland.
The research aims to collate information from across the country to gain a clear understanding of what services are available and what issues those delivering services are currently encountering in meeting need.
The BEYOND Homelessness Project is based at the Rock Trust in Edinburgh in partnership with Scottish Social Networks and Glasgow School of Social Networks. The Rock Trust will manage the research partnered by Strathclyde University. In the final phase the Rock Trust will develop and disseminate training and share the experience of involvement in research.
The research will provide robust evidence to inform local and national policy, providing staff with functional best practice models and skills to develop practice and bring direct benefit to service users. Both service providers and service users will be directly involved throughout the process – in design, delivery and dissemination. Not only will this ensure relevance, but will also develop user employability along with skills in conducting research. The research aims to highlight current efforts being made to reduce homelessness and subsequent isolation through support services in Scotland and explore the impact support services which promote social networks have in securing routes out of homelessness.
Social Networks In Context
The importance of social networks in securing sustainable tenancies is outlined by the Homelessness Taskforce in their final report “Helping Homeless People” (2002).
“the strength of a homeless persons social networks should be an integral part of the assessment of their needs…all projects serving homeless people should pursue strategies to promote and support opportunities for positive social interaction” Article 55
And
“Local authorities, through their homelessness strategies, should develop practical means of enabling people affected by homelessness to (re)build social networks.” Article 57
Alongside recommendations made by the Homelessness Taskforce, the Scottish Executive has pledged to remove the category of priority need for all who find themselves unintentionally homeless under the 2012 Homelessness Target.
Whilst the government acknowledges that it cannot “build it’s way out of homelessness” (Jim Anderson, Scottish Government, 2011, Scottish Social Networks, Putting Research Into Practice Forum. Report http://www.scottishsocialnetworks.org/event_reports ) Meeting the 2012 Homelessness Target remains a reality and the adoption of a Housing Options and prevention approach in dealing with homelessness opens up further space in acknowledging the impact of social networks- current preventative methods being trialled across Scotland often rely heavily on utilising an individuals social networks as alternatives to the homelessness route.
What Are Social Networks?
“Relationships with those we come into contact with on a regular basis (both paid and unpaid) which provide support and engage us with wider communities. The quality and proximity of these relationships vary, but are seen to enhance networking and personal development. Such relationships can be formal or informal, positive or negative and when beneficial promote resilience and wellbeing.”
This research views social networks as vitally important in securing long term solutions to homelessness. Overcoming isolation, making ones way back into the workplace, feeling part of a community and making new links to wider communities is possible by utilising and building social networks.
In many cases of homelessness, key triggers in becoming homeless often stem from relationship breakdown, becoming homelessness often reduces the size and quality of an individual’s social networks, frequently resulting in isolation and marginalisation.
The Beyond Homelessness research will examine the application and integration of social network support within housing services provided by local authorities and support service providers.
It is hoped that the research will demonstrate how housing support services which promote social networks can contribute towards meeting the 2012 Homelessness Target.
The research is split into two stages, with stage one comprising a national survey and round of interviews (Survey Report available below) followed by stage two which will explore the experiences of service users in receiving support through interviewing service users directly(April 2011).
Initial results from our stage one survey report indicate that, social networks do indeed help to sustain tenancies and generally promote positive longer-term outcomes to service support. 68.2% of our survey respondents stated that they felt social networks offered best value in the delivery of support services, such results reflect current attitudes that positive social networks do assist in helping people move out of homelessness. Social networks based services were also seen as contributing towards maintaining successful tenancies (62.8%).
We were very pleased that we obtained such a fantastic response from all local authorities and voluntary organisations across Scotland and would like to say a big thanks to all staff who took the time to complete the survey. The report highlighted the relationship between supporting social networks and long term benefits to service users, and also reaffirmed the support of both local authorities and third sector organisations in backing the social networks agenda.
Case Study Update
The research is now working in partnership with its four case study local authority areas; Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh City, Highland and West Dunbartonshire.
We have now established four researcher teams in each area, made up of experiences sessional researchers and peer researchers who have previously been homeless themselves. These teams are working to complete around twenty interviews each with those currently homeless or at risk of homelessness. All researchers completed a three day training course, delivered in partnership with Ann Rosengard Associates and have had the ongoing support of research mentors. It is hoped that through involvement with the project peer researchers will bring their experience and knowledge of being homeless to the research, adding depth, whilst also developing their own professional and interpersonal skills for future paid employment.
SEPTEMBER 2011: We have now completed all interviews with current service users and have had good feedback from those involved. Thanks to the hard work of our research teams we completed 75 interviews and have had positive feedback from peer researchers about their experience of being involved in the project. Analysis of the findings is now underway and an overview of the findings will be available shortly.
More Information
If you would like to learn more about our research, join the mailing list, get involved, or if you know of people who would enjoy working with us please contact the BEYOND Homelessness Research Fellow, Katey Tabner (katey.tabner@rocktrust.org call 07827851795).
For link to the Big Lottery Fund please go to our useful links page