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Bridging the gap between supported and general needs housing
General needs housing officers are facing growing challenges, writes Charlie Culshaw, director of care and support at L&Q
Charlie Culshaw is director of care and support at L&Q Living
General needs housing officers are facing growing challenges, writes Charlie Culshaw, director of care and support at L&Q #UKhousingI’ve spent my career in supported housing, but in 2017 I took on the lead safeguarding role at L&Q, which involved working across general needs too. Since then, I’ve been struck by the growing range and complexity of needs that housing officers face. From mental health and domestic abuse to substance misuse, the sheer volume is immense.
Supported housing has always been a structured environment, where colleagues can lean on statutory services for support. When cases become challenging, a care coordinator is only a call away.
General needs housing has always accommodated residents with some level of vulnerability, but the complexity of these cases has increased significantly in recent years. Housing officers are now managing cases which are clearly more suitable for supported living.
I recall the contrasting stories of two residents with mental health needs. One lived in supported living and was able to return to university and earn a degree two years after leaving hospital. Another was in general needs housing and was experiencing a crisis. This caused significant anti-social behaviour, but he had no access to support. This example highlights the blurred boundaries between the two tenures.
It shouldn’t be like this. People with complex needs should have an appropriate support structure in place. When the system fails to provide, the burden often falls on housing officers, despite them lacking the specialised training required.
“People with complex needs should have an appropriate support structure in place. When the system fails to provide, the burden often falls on housing officers, despite them lacking the specialised training required”
Why? There is a lack of supported housing, and community services have been cut back over the years, including mental health services, youth projects and community policing. Last year, the Metropolitan Police in London announced they would no longer respond to mental health calls unless there was an immediate risk of harm, due to the strain on their resources.
Cash-strapped councils sometimes fall short too, with adult social care departments prematurely closing cases, or failing to properly carry out assessments under the Care Act.
Housing associations can’t simply step back from our responsibilities to residents. The Housing Ombudsman and regulator expect us to offer robust support around vulnerabilities. This is the right thing to do, but there has been no clear definition of what this looks like in practice.
This means a greater burden has fallen on housing teams to fill the gaps. Frontline staff find themselves trying to fill multiple roles, not only as housing officers, but also as social workers, mental health advocates and quasi-police officers. We are here to help, but need to be clear about what our role is, and the support we can provide, without taking on the role statutory services should provide.
Supported living funding enables us to equip our colleagues with the training needed to manage crises involving complex needs. However, the same level of training has not been extended to our general housing officers.
L&Q is taking measures to address this. In 2022, we returned to a patch-based structure, reducing the size of the areas to between 500 and 600 residents.
We have also formed a housing specialisms team to help our frontline colleagues handle complex cases. The team includes a domestic abuse lead, anti-social behaviour officers, an occupational therapist and a mental health practitioner. This specialist backbone alleviates some of the pressure on housing officers, although it faces significant demand itself.
“In 2022, we returned to a patch-based structure, reducing the size of the areas to between 500 and 600 residents. We have also formed a housing specialisms team to help our frontline colleagues handle complex cases”
We’ve accompanied this with significant investments into services which support residents with their finances and access to tenancy sustainment support. This is delivered through the L&Q Foundation. Additionally, we have bolstered our training programme for colleagues, focusing on mental health and safeguarding.
I’m in awe of the housing officers who dedicate their working lives to supporting others. Yet the sad reality is that many feel overwhelmed, and social landlords struggle to recruit when good people leave. Meanwhile, there are residents struggling with mental health issues, substance abuse or financial instability who are trapped in a cycle which housing officers may be ill equipped to break.
Reinforcing the support framework and restoring adequate funding for local authorities are critical steps towards addressing the growing crisis in general needs housing. Only then can we hope to meet the evolving needs of all residents, ensuring that no one is left to fall through the cracks.
Charlie Culshaw, director of care and support, L&Q
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