Over 200 HAs sign up to NHF homelessness referral scheme
More than 200 housing associations have signed up to a new National Housing Federation (NHF) initiative aimed at tackling homelessness.
Housing associations including L&Q, Sanctuary Housing and The Guinness Partnership have signed up to the NHF Commitment to Refer initiative, which encourages housing associations to work with local authorities by notifying them of anyone at risk of homelessness.
The Commitment to Refer was introduced by the NHF in response to the Homelessness Reduction Act, which came into force in October.
The act meant public bodies were under obligation to refer people who are already homeless or at risk of losing their home to their local authority. However, this did not apply directly to housing associations.
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Since launching the commitment in October the NHF has seen a total of 201 housing associations sign up to the new initiative.
Kate Henderson chief executive of the NHF said the signatures showed a significant appetite in the sector to tackle homelessness and said it was the aim of the organisation to get every housing association to sign up in 2019.
According to latest government figures, rough sleeping has increased by 169% since 2010, while the number of children living in temporary accommodation has grown by 65%.
Ms Henderson said: “In the past decade homelessness has increased on an unimaginable scale.
“Housing associations already do brilliant work every day to stop people becoming homeless and to provide shelter to people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets. It’s really positive to now see hundreds of organisations across the country publicly committing to go above and beyond to tackle this growing problem.”
In February Inside Housing reported that the NHF had opened talks with the government to discuss housing associations’ roles in implementing the new Homelessness Reduction Act.
Since then the NHF has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to develop the pledge in support of the the act.
Heather Wheeler, minister for housing and homelessness, said: “This initiative demonstrates a real commitment to work with local authorities to play an active role in tackling homelessness.”
Shelter has estimated that 24,000 people will spend Christmas sleeping on the streets, in cars or sofa-surfing.
Earlier this week the government announced it would be providing £4.8m to set up 11 new homeless shelters across the country.
What is the NHF commitment to refer?
- The Homelessness Reduction Act, which came into force in April 2018, confers a duty to refer on certain bodies providing public services. This means they need to notify a local authority if they come into contact with somebody they think may be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
- Housing associations are not included in the duty to refer under the act
- However, the National Housing Federation has urged its members to sign up to a voluntary commitment to refer people at risk of homelessness to councils
- More than 200 housing associations have signed up so far
