COVID-19 and homelessness services Welcome! We will start at 3pm - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

COVID-19 and homelessness services Welcome! We will start at 3pm Please set your Chat panel to ‘All panelists and attendees’ so that everyone can see your messages www.homeless.org.uk #HomelessCovid19 Let’s end homelessness together

COVID-19 and homelessness services Tasmin Maitland & Sue Christoforou, Homeless Link Jenny McAteer & Jo Brown, Groundswell 24 th June 2020 www.homeless.org.uk #HomelessCovid19 Let’s end homelessness together

The Power of the Peer! Active Participation during a pandemic Homeless Link Webinar 24 June 2019

Who are you? Jenny McAteer Jo Brown #HealthNow Director Research Manager @jen_jen_mac @JoMichelleBrown

And Groundswell? Participation works COVID MONITORING PROJECT CALL AND CHECK SERVICE PEERS, PARTNERSHIPS AND Valuable Only us people COLLABORATIONS ACTION UPDATES, PAVEMENT, EXTRA-ORDINARY ALLIANCE PODCASTS MEETINGS Community benefit

So what’s it all about? It is possible to have active participation of people with experience of homelessness in your decision making – yes, even in a pandemic! Build a Create Amplify network of Being equal solutions experience peer power together Case Study: Monitoring the impact of COVID-19

Why Active Participation? “Service users and carers take the lead in determining policy or service development, individual care and recovery” NSUN 4PNI National Involvement Standards. Shift Listen to Understan Better power experience d solutions base

The Lived Experience #HomelessCOVID19 Challenge: How to enable active participation of people with experience of homelessness in decision making on COVID19 response locally and nationally. How to avoid the usual excuses: • There’s no time or resources because we have to act fast • How do we reach people beyond the usual suspects? • What about the digital divide? • How can we support people properly? • People don’t engage with us • We want to avoid tokenism Use Slido.com Event number: #91960 and rate your participation so far

Build a network of peer power Existing New Supporting: Networking: connections: connections: • Training to • Creating • Local teams of support people’s opportunities for • Partnerships peers advocacy and people to connect, • Building a team of • Connecting with research skills share and work citizen journalists other together • Support networks – On Our Radar organisations Challenges: • Maintaining contact/reaching people and ‘bringing people together’ virtually • Making sure reps can really be representative of lived experience and the network

Being Equal Local COVID In Groundswell and responses: #HealthNow National COVID • Setting the Partnership: responses: agenda for • Reference group #HealthNow • COVID Monitoring Alliances Project Steering • #HealthNow Group NHSE/I Partnership Board • Sharing local intelligence • Lived experience • Input on plans, NHSE/I group • Critical friends of methods and analysis of data the system- accountability Challenges : • Power imbalances • Getting ‘buy in’ from decision makers and preparing people – insight led

Amplify experience Making people heard: • Feed in through alliances at local level • Feed in at a national Creating opportunities to level (i.e. steering group, Live intelligence routes: share stories: APPG submission) • Call and check • Wider awareness • Interviews • Peer network through briefings and co- • People taking the lead • Partners producing through mobile reporting recommendations • Healthy London Partnership • APPG submissi on Challenges: • Developing new approaches to face-to-face communications • Broadening reach

Create solutions together For people experiencing To support local homelessness: responses: • Producing Action • Local planning to To inform national responses: Updates with and for develop a ‘Listen Up!’ people experiencing toolkit • Workshop on digital homelessness • Working with Crisis and divide with peers and • Working with ‘The Pathway to develop a faculty of inclusion Pavement’ to develop self-assessment toolkit health/ pathway special editions for local authorities. Challenges: • Pace of decision making • Intent= implement gaps

Case Study: Peer Led Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 Develop Holding the solutions system to and account recommend ations together Peer Explore and reference analyse data group to and insights steer project Design, Strategic adapt steering research group with tools, decision together makers

What are we hearing so far? Early findings have illustrated the importance of: “We are not registering homeless people full stop ” • A consistent and multi-agency response to planning • Ensuring existing health needs are addressed to prevent significant worsening of conditions by reducing barriers to ‘[I have] been told I cannot health care get any more food unless I provide evidence from my Dr that I • A clear focus on a humanitarian approach to am vulnerable’ homelessness which considers more than just securing accommodation

What are we hearing so far? “No WIFI, no TV, can't walk, suffering from severe anxiety • Exploring solutions to delivering services and depression and mental health has deteriorated over remotely which do not perpetuate the digital the last few weeks. Not being divide able to go out is difficult… • Maintaining the steps people have taken in their Lonely and bored” recovery to ensure people continue to be supported post-COVID “Everybody now in there, their • The power of the peer! scripts are sorted, any kind of health things have been addressed”

Your recipe for active participation Set up a peer led Alliance/ task force in your local area Establish or connect with a network of peers Invest in people- give a lot =get a lot 1. Gather and amplify experience of homelessness Ensure decision making is informed by experience Get people involved with the COVID-19 monitoring project Use Slido.com event number: #91960 to share your plans to improve active participation

Find out more • Read our briefings from the COVID-19 project https://groundswell.org.uk/monitoring-covid-19/ • Find our action updates https://groundswell.org.uk/coronavirus/ • Find our ‘Listen Up!’ toolkit https://groundswell.org.uk/listen-up/ • Use our local self-assessment toolkit https://groundswell.org.uk/covid19- selfassessmenttool/

Thank You Contact Jo for information about the COVID-19 project or our research: Jo.brown@groundswell.org.uk Contact Jenny for information about the #HealthNow partnership and alliances: Jenny.mcateer@groundswell.org.uk Contact Sharon for information about how Groundswell trains and supports peers: Sharon.Clint@groundswell.org.uk

COVID-19 and homelessness services www.homeless.org.uk #HomelessCovid19 Let’s end homelessness together

Policy update Ø Funding Ø Welfare Ø Housing First Ø Upcoming event looking at NRPF www.homeless.org.uk Let’s end homelessness together

Policy update Funding • Today’s announcement: £105m £85m of new funding from Treasury £20m from ‘refocusing existing homeless and rough sleeping budgets’ • Funding programme details to be announced next week to bring a range of new accommodation units into use www.homeless.org.uk Let’s end homelessness together

Policy update Funding • Funding for 6,000 new supported homes was announced in May, bringing forward £381m funding from the Budget – total: £433m • £160m has been allocated 2020/21, of which £30m for revenue • Of the £433m over 4 years, £197m of that will be for revenue funding • 3,300 of new homes will become available in the next 12 months • Bid guidance must reference need for support based on known need www.homeless.org.uk Let’s end homelessness together

Policy update Welfare o No news on extra £20/week UC beyond February 2021 o No equivalent increase for JSA or ESA – legal challenge being prepared o Govt do not intend to reduce the LHA but no clarity re: what happens next o Benefit cap still in place – Govt adamant this will not change o Three month hiatus for benefit overpayment and conditionality due to end o Govt have not said when sanctions will return o Some providers who have lost Housing Benefit income are looking to LAs for compensation www.homeless.org.uk Let’s end homelessness together

Policy update Housing First No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) Housing First advisory group • LAs, social landlords, Govt • Joint statement and calls on Govt to be published soon Pan London Umbrella Support (PLUS) event 13 July 1pm-2:30pm Transition Planning in London, focusing on NRPF • Hear what’s being done in parts of the capital, and join discussions. • Register at: London.Plus@homelesslink.org.uk www.homeless.org.uk Let’s end homelessness together

COVID-19 and homelessness services www.homeless.org.uk #HomelessCovid19 Let’s end homelessness together