A scheme to help homeless people off the streets – inspired by work done in New York, will be expanded in Bradford to help an extra 10 rough sleepers.
The Housing First initiative was initially piloted in Bradford in 2018, to support people across the district who have the most complex needs and who have histories of repeat homelessness.
It can currently support 30 people, but it will now be expanded to support 40 of the District’s rough sleepers.
Based on an international model, first developed in New York, the scheme has had a big impact in Finland, where it has cut homelessness by 70 per cent since 2007.
The traditional approach to support homeless people is to place them in hostels.
But Housing First provides people with their own home and tenancy, with intensive open-ended support.
The aim is to give people back control of their own lives with the belief that having a stable home provides them with an environment from which to tackle their challenges.
Bradford Council will work in partnership with the Bridge Project and Waythrough to deliver the programme over the next three years, with the additional capacity to increase support from 30 clients to 40.
Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, transport and planning Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw said: “We can say with certainty and with pride that in pioneering the Housing First approach we have reduced rough sleeping and repeat homelessness in the Bradford district.
“We are delighted to be able to extend the service which offers the most vulnerable people with the most complex of needs, intensive, tailored, and wraparound support which emphasises control and choice.”
Chief executive of the Bridge Project Jon Royle explained: “Housing First is a compassionate, humane response to help a group of people who’ve had incredibly difficult and challenging lives fulfil their potential and gain a level of dignity that most of us take for granted.”
Claire McCreanor, Director of Housing and Property Services at Waythrough added: “Providing people with a safe and secure place to call home while addressing the multiple disadvantages they face, with support tailored to their situation is a transformative approach to getting people’s lives back on track.
“We are pleased to be building on our experience working within innovative housing support partnerships to enable people in Bradford to put homelessness and related challenges like substance use and mental ill health behind them.”
