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Increased costs put ‘invisible’ supported housing providers under financial pressure
Supported housing providers say they have been “invisible” during the coronavirus crisis as extra costs have put pressure on an already underfunded sector.
Inside Housing has heard from several supported housing providers which say the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE), staff absences and an increase in voids has had a big impact on businesses.
Jeremy Gray, chief executive of Evolve, said the cost to the organisation in the first six weeks of the crisis was around £100,000, which is about half of the organisation’s projected surplus.
Fiona Humphrey, chief executive at Providence Row Housing Association, said the increased cost to the organisation has been “about 20% on the staffing and PPE costs so far, but there are also significant void losses in shared accommodation on top of that”.
The comments come after repeated warnings from the regulator and housing bodies that the supported housing sector would need additional support during the pandemic.
Sue Ramsden, policy leader at the National Housing Federation (NHF), said “there’s absolutely no margins from which to absorb some of these extra costs” due to “significant cuts” to support contracts over the years.
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Both Evolve and Providence Row run supported housing schemes for homeless individuals, however Mr Gray said services like theirs have “been a bit missed in discussion about supporting services for vulnerable people”.
He said: “The whole focus has been about rough sleepers going into hotels, there’s been very little about what it’s like and what it’s taken to keep the permanent homelessness services open.
“Local authorities are already talking to us about the resettlement plan once the hotels for rough sleepers close and some of those people will come to us undoubtedly.
“That’s all well and good, we’re very happy to help, but charities like ours can’t do that if they’ve gone bust.”
He added: "I don’t think we will go bust, not least because the local authorities are helping us, but it’s a very real issue and there are many other smaller charities who will be in real trouble.”
Patrick Ryan, chief executive at Hestia, said supported housing providers have been “invisible” during the coronavirus crisis.
He said: “We hear about the NHS, we hear about care homes now, but we don’t hear about supported housing at all... if you work in supported housing and you turn on the news, you’re not really represented there.”
Earlier this month, Jonathan Walters, deputy chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, told Inside Housing that the regulator was “most worried” about “smaller organisations with large care and supported housing services compared to size”.
