This morning we briefed Change Grow Live teams across England on the Government's new Rough Sleeping Programme. Getting everyone sleeping rough "in for Christmas" is rightly ambitious and incredibly challenging. We're already in September…(!) Many of our teams already work alongside local authorities, housing providers, health services and criminal justice partners to support people experiencing homelessness. But turning an offer of a room into a more meaningful longterm change also requires access to healthcare, employment support, drug and alcohol treatment, and, where possible, helping people reconnect with family and wider support networks. As an organisation, we're: • encouraging our services to engage early with local partners and help shape local responses • engaging nationally with both stakeholder and media to ensure the role of drug and alcohol treatment services aren’t overlooked • sharing frontline insight, evidence and good practice from our outreach, homelessness and treatment services
This is so on point, and something we see constantly at The Avenue Homes. An offer of a room is the starting point, not the outcome. Without access to treatment, healthcare and employment support running alongside it, that room rarely leads to lasting change. Its genuinely encouraging to see Change Grow Live pushing to keep drug and alcohol treatment part of this national conversation rather than letting it get overshadowed by the headline target. 👏
Love this 🙌🏼
I watched this happen during Covid, so we have a tried and tested model, it can be done. However, the previous efforts lacked sustainable energy, growth and development. Here we are again, I hope we take previous learnings and shape them into lasting, meaningful opportunities of change.