Homelessness and Housing – Moving from Policy to Action - Frank Murtagh Presentation delivered by Frank Murtagh at the Housing First conference organised by Athlone Institute of Technology and Midlands Simon on 30 September 2013

1. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
Housing First
From Policy to Practice

2. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
FORMAT
 Background to Significance of Housing &
Independent Living for People
 A Look at Some Evidence
 Opportunities for Effective Policy Implementation
 Success Factors
 Practical Issues

3. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
BACKGROUND
 Community Integration Programme (Housing NIHE)
 Learning Disability, Muckamore Abbey, Antrim
 Mental Ill-Health
 Older People Dem, Intensive Support & Multi Disciplinary Teams
 Young People
 Transforming Your Care is Current Guidance Tool
 Community Care in Ireland
 Reviews of Homelessness Services Carried out by M & P
in 8 of 9 Regions in State Profiling Incidence and Responses
 Addictions Work in Ireland

4. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
WHAT IS INDEPENDENT LIVING/HF?
 Social Inclusion Measure/Intervention
 Freedom, Choice, Dignity & Control In Society & Live Ordinary Life
 Place Of Your Own
 Privacy
 Simple Dignities of Life & Self Determination
 Make Your Own Meals
 Own Front Door (rather than Other Collectives)
 Right to Fail
 Captures changing paradigm of service provision from control to freedom.
 Core to supported living is the belief that “every person has the right to
lead their own life – determine how they live, with whom they live, who
provides them with help and support and how they live their lives” (Kinsella 1993)
 Permanent Housing & Type is an Essential

5. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
RATIONALE SUMMARY
 People Want a Place of Their Own
 Independent Living as Pre-Requisite to Addressing
Health, Social & Occupational Needs & Precedes it
 Housing Before Treatment – victimising the victim
 Early Intervention (Longitudinal Studies Young People etc)
 Improved Tenancy Sustainment
 Ideally Dispersed Randomly Throughout Community

6. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
GLASGOW RE-PROVISIONING
 Longitudinal Study - 1 and 3 years After
Implementation of Re-Provisioning from 2 Large
Hostels
 Significant Impact on Quality of Life Outcomes
 General and Mental Health Improvements
 Better Personal Finance Management
 Decrease in Drinking and Drug Use
 Improved Social & Emotional Support
 Relationships – Family and Friends
 High Tenancy Sustainability & Few Returned to Homelessness
 Some Loneliness & Few People Working

7. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
LOCAL STRATEGIC OUTCOMES
 8% - 14% of People Who Access Services Are Settled
 Approx 4% of Dedicated Statutory Funding for Settlement
 Residents Access Emergency Services Too Often and Stay
for Too Long
 Housing First Strategy in its Infancy in Ireland
 Sometimes Adopted as an Exceptional Option Rather
than a Cultural Shift eg Allocated Houses by LAs, Demonstration Projects etc
 Good Policies are Important and Necessary … but are not
Sufficient

8. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
SUGGESTED SUCCESS FACTORS
 Predicated on Homelessness as Persistent Event
 Transformation of Service – Housing First Culture
 Effective Partnership Arrangements HATs etc
 Person Centred Rather than Services-Led Throughcare
 Primary Focus – Exit Emergency & Temporary
Housing into Permanent Housing with Independent
Living with Supports Key Working
 Floating Support – Defines Independent Living
 Identify, Research and Apply Controllable Factors

9. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
ONGOING LEVEL OF HOMELESSNESS
 No Evidence that Incidence of Homelessness will
Desist – People’s Homelessness Will End, Pressure on Resources
 Emergency Accommodation and Responses Will
Always be Required – Pathways, BCAT, GSC etc
 Implementation of Housing First Focus & Culture
Will Determine the Effectiveness of Response
 Assumption of Ending Incidence of Homelessness
Leads to Poor Planning
 Resources
 Management & Staff Effectiveness

10. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
TRANSFORMATION OF SERVICE
 Services Configuration Where Local
Structures/Culture Conform or Approach to HF/IL
Criteria
 Carlow - HAT, RAS, LA Dedicated Settlement Officer
 Kilkenny - HAT, RAS, GSC
 Midlands - HAT, RAS, 4 Settlement Workers, LA Focus
 Focus on
 Prevention
 Housing People Expeditiously From Emergency
Accommodation
 Supporting Residents with Proactive Personal Plan

11. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
HOUSING & COST RELATIONSHIP
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
€0
€2,000
€4,000
€6,000
€8,000
€10,000
€12,000
Midlands North West North East South East Mid East South West West Dublin Total (8
Regions)
Relationship Cost & Housing Outcome (M & P 2013)
Cost PP pa % People with +ve Housing Outcome

12. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIP
 Key Partners include:
 HSE
 Local Authorities (DoEC&LG)
 Emergency Accommodation Providers
 Settlement/Tenancy Support Workers
 Probation Service
 Addictions Services
 Is There Sufficient Housing Input?
 Policy into Practice?

13. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
PERSON CENTRED
 Reference Points are Mainly Current Services
 We Know More About People’s Needs Now - Could
be Reflected in Response Design & Implementation
 Different Pathways for Different Groups – but
Always Housing Focussed – Cluster, GSC etc
 Determines Resources – Design, Type & Quantum

14. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
PRIMARY FOCUS (HF DETERMINANTS)
 Prevent People from Entering Homelessness
Services –
 Front Door Services (In and Out)
 Mediation Services
 Planned Referral
 Out of Emergency & Temporary Housing into
Permanent Housing with Independent Living with
Supports
 Sustaining People in Permanent Housing

15. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
FLOATING SUPPORT
 Role of Emergency Services & Accommodation
(Dependence)
 Prevent Dependence
 Minimise Dependence
 Cost Effective (the more people supported by FS, more people will be
sustained in IL)
 Delivers Personal Development, Decision-making &
Self Determination
 Ensures Long-Term Support

16. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
CONTROLLABLES/UNCONTROLLABLES
 From Planning, Management & Frontline Point of View
 Uncontrollable Factors will happen anyway …
 Incidence of Homelessness – at some level
 Housing Type and Quantum
 Political Commitment & Social Views on Homelessness
 Controllable Factors are Totally in Our Hands …
 Design of Services
 Focus of Strategy, Responses & Expected Outcomes
 Essential Partners and Working Relationships
 Job/Person Specifications
 Budget Priorities

17. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
HOUSING STOCK MIX (2011)
Tenure Type Ireland England Scotland NI
Owner Occupied 70% 70% 64% 62%
Private Rented 22% 13% 11% 17%
Rented from Local Authorities 6% 9% 15% 12%
Housing Assoc (RAS, Vol S/T etc) 2% 9% 10% 3%

18. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
HOUSING DATA IRELAND
Number of: 2009 2010 2011
2009 – 2011
Average
August
2012
Applications 48,888 43,301 36,968 43,052
Assessments 49,637 51,436 45,003 48,692
Home Visits 14,531 15,065 12,001 13,866
Allocations 10,416 8,771 8,774 9,320
Refusals 2,483 2,746 2,805 2,678
Waiting List August 2012 146,219

19. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
TARGETING
Tenure Type 2011
Owner Occupied 1,391,803 70%
Local Authority/Social Housing 129,033 6%
Private Rented 474,788 24%
Total Ireland 2011 1,995,624 100%

20. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
SUPPLY & DEMAND FOR HOUSING
 Demand for Housing
 Homelessness (Incidence) ~ 5,000
 Applications for Social Housing ~ 40,000 (2011)
 Allocation of Social Housing ~ 8,770 (2011)
 Supply of Housing
 Private Rented ~ 439,037
 Local Authority ~ 129,033
 Housing Associations, RAS etc ~ 39,912
 Owner Occupied ~ 1,391,803
 No Major Developments Planned
 Rental Availability Sept 2013 ~ 9,000 (+ NAMA Supply)

21. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
THE FUTURE
 Major Cultural Shift Required
 What it Means for Current Configuration
 Measure of the Effectiveness of the Service is Not
the Elimination of Homelessness but the Efficiency
of the Responses to Its Incidence
 Prevalence and Incidence Measurements
 Transfer of Resources to Settlement, Independent
Living, Housing First … To Augment Existing
Skillbase in the Current Service Configuration

22. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
THE FUTURE
 Practicals for Housing First
 Housing Focus Underlying All Responses to Homelessness
 Design & Implement Local ‘House Search’ Approach as Essential
 Build Cross Sector Social Landlord Portfolio of Permanent
Accommodation
 Search for Appropriate Housing Configuration with the Person
Central to the Personal Plan
 Liaise with Landlords and Advocate for Person
 Continue Support for Person
 Redeploy Current Resources to Housing and Settlement Focus
 …. Some Things that Turn Policy into Practice …….

23. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
“When the Facts Change, I
Change My Mind. What Do
You Do?
John Maynard Keynes

24. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
FINALLY
Please Write Down Three Things That You Might Do in
Your Agency as a Result of Listening to the
Conversation Here Today. Note Your Agency Type and
Hand to Conference Administrators at Rear of Room.
1. .
2. .
3. .

25. Housing First ~ From Policy to Practice
Housing First
From Policy to Practice