Resolved –

Council notes:

Last year 24 rough sleepers were counted on the streets of Bradford district.  Even one is too many.  Rough sleeping is an indictment of our society and concerted action is needed to eliminate it.  The Government’s Welfare changes have led to a huge increase in people presenting at the Council’s Housing Options service. From 6,411 in 2013/14 to 9,434 in 2018/19. Obviously these are not all rough sleepers, they are however people needing better housing, and our new District Housing Strategy seeks to address this challenge.

To take action on rough sleeping, Bradford Council funded a district wide Housing First pilot that commenced in August 2018.

Housing First is an internationally recognised programme of homelessness support that places people with the most complex needs directly into a home and then provides intensive support to help them address their wider issues.

Many people who become homeless have a wide variety of complex needs that are addressed through Housing First, including rough sleeping, mental health issues and substance misuse. Housing First provides support separately to the housing so it stays with the individual if they need to move homes.

The 12 month evaluation of Housing First shows the success rate from the Bradford pilot matches or exceeds the results achieved in other Housing First projects in the UK and across Europe.

Key results include the majority of people passing the six month point of tenancy sustainment, reduction in A&E attendance and reduced length of stays in hospital, engagement with specialist substance misuse treatment and support for adhering to licence conditions through the criminal justice system.

Council resolves:

To continue support for the Housing First pilot and to expand it by investing an additional £360,000 through the budget process. This will allow for a further 10 people to benefit from the programme with additional support from outreach workers. It will also pay for further outreach support for people moving on from the original programme.

To lobby the Government for funding to ensure we can meet the identified need for this programme and guarantee funding for future years.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Place