The winds of change

With a new government starting to bed in and strive forward for ‘quick wins’ there can be little doubt that the winds of change are blowing but for those of us working in the homeless sector will it be a gentle breeze or a force 10 gale with the promise of structural change?

We need more than a gentle breeze in the homeless sector. This is a sector that few people know about or understand but for people needing support to address their accommodation needs it provides a lifeline, a glimmer of hope when life can sometimes seem hopeless.

The homeless sector delivers when the only option a person might have is to bed down in a park or a street doorway. The homeless sector supports, and at times props up health and social care services but be in no doubt the homeless sector is creaking with some services close to collapse.

One of the most significant challenges many organisations are facing is the increasing levels of support that people using homeless services require. Challenges are so much more complex than simply putting a roof over someone’s head. Often these challenges are not considered at the point of commissioning. Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that the current operating model does not meet the needs of the people who face homelessness in 2024.

The number of people sleeping rough who have poor mental health is estimated at between 45% – 50%. This data is not current and there is undoubtedly an increase in the number of people sleeping rough who have poor mental health. Quite often people using homeless services have more than one significant health need. They may also have a social care need but often these needs go unassessed. If a person is assessed as having a care need the services are often not available due to the complexity of the identified needs. Often accommodation for people who are homeless with multiple needs is viewed as acceptable accommodation. It really isn’t.

Accessing services for people with multiple health needs could at best be described as a challenge, at worst it’s almost impossible. The barriers are complex and quite often the services that are needed are simply not available or accessible. Current systems are stretched to breaking point. If someone experiences a significant mental health trauma, there may be a short window of opportunity to fight and access the services the person needs.

People should not have to reach this level of distress before being able to (possibly) access the services that they need……and don’t get me started on the bounce about between mental health services and drug and alcohol support services. Never have I seen professional ping pong played so effectively. The results of the professional ping pong being an individual left without adequate support or suitable housing to meet their needs. The likely outcome of the situation is that the person will spiral into further chaos which will inevitably result in an admission to acute services or a prison cell. If the right services were available we could all do so much better for the people at the centre of professional ping pong.

Living with these challenges takes its toll and often results in poorer mental health, poorer physical heath, despair and frustration. This frustration and despair may manifest itself in many ways. Sometimes it is our team members working to support people who must pick up the pieces and try to provide hope in what can, at times be a hopeless situation.

Team members working in homeless services often deal with traumatic, life-threatening situations that most of us only see on TV. Placed alongside these traumatic events the day to day issues of dealing with anti-social behaviour and general depression seem almost insignificant ….but they are not, they too take their toll.

Not only are the people we support suffering through the lack of (even adequate let alone good) mental health support our team members are also bearing the brunt of the lack of mental health support. Our team members are often the people who must deliver bad news, explain why the support needed is not available and watch as the person falls apart or blames them for something they have no control over.

These dedicated and committed team members deserve the very best support that we can provide for them. They also deserve recognition for the work that they do. We are seeing some small green shoots of recognition and support from central government for our team members, but our hard working and dedicated team members remain the poor cousin twice removed from their health and social care colleagues in terms of access to learning development and professional recognition. This is unacceptable and needs to change.

At St Martins we deal with the here and now, but wouldn’t it be so much better if the here and now was different? If there was a reduction in the number of people sleeping rough across the UK. If prevention services were prioritised. If we didn’t have to fight for the services people are entitled to. If there were sufficient support to stop people losing their tenancies. If there was enough social housing. If poverty wasn’t a thing in 2024. Sadly, the here and now is our reality unless those winds of change deliver significant structural change.

As a CEO of a homeless charity, I’d settle for two things right now from our new government. These two things are the delivery of mental health and care services that meet the needs of the people using our services and the recognition that our amazing team members across homeless services deserve.

If the winds of change bring just these two things I’m sure that I and my fellow CEOs will sleep more peacefully.

Dr Jan Sheldon

Chief Executive

St Martins