Starts at Home Day
As the National Housing Federation's Starts at Home campaign highlights, good quality supported housing gives people choices about their lives and provides tailored, person-centred support vital to their resilience, health and wellbeing. It is a vital part of the local community. Housing associations across the country offer supported housing services to some of the most vulnerable in our society, including older and disabled people, domestic abuse survivors and those who have experienced homelessness. Providers are committed to building and managing high-quality homes, whilst those with specific physical and mental health needs and disabilities benefit from adapted homes and services, which enable them to live independent, healthy lives.
Not only does supported housing have a huge positive impact on residents’ lives, but it is also critical to reducing homelessness and taking pressure off the social care, health and criminal justice systems. Imogen Blood research, commissioned by the National Housing Federation, found that were it not for supported housing, 41,000 more people would be homeless, with a further 30,000 people at risk of homelessness; while in 2021, the BRE Group calculated that inadequate housing costs the NHS at least £1.4bn per year. This figure is only likely to have increased as the effects of the housing crisis have deepened.
Good quality supported housing is needed now more than ever, but supported housing is facing a number of acute funding pressures that represent a significant threat to its long-term future. Our services are under acute pressure from inflation, rising costs and uncertainty. New, ambitious investment is needed to protect this vital resource.
