THN Social Impact Report 2021/22

Social Impact Report

This is our first Social Impact Report so I thought I would take this opportunity to stop and reflect what we have achieved over the last 8 years.

On a personal note it has been a tremendously rewarding journey, though not without its challenges. 10 years ago I was in a career that left me totally unfulfilled on a professional level, I was fast approaching 40 so with the support of my family I started a new business that at the very core was committed to helping house people in suitable, secure and safe accommodation. We started in a 2 person office based in Luton which has now grown into 7 regional hubs across the country from Brighton to Edinburgh, our Head Office in Luton and over 100 colleagues across the country running numerous projects and pathways.

I know it is a cliché but at one point 6 of us were sitting around a kitchen table running the business. Over the last 4 years we have made the transition from a family run business to a small business and as we continue to evolve to a medium sized business I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who put years of hard work in so we could arrive at this place. As a new business, with no previous experience in

the social housing sector, we had our work cut out and there were some very steep learning curves along the way. But in those initial years as a team we smashed through barriers and made things happen that I didn’t think were possible. As we have grown and changed over these early years we have benefited from the tenacity and passion of so many people who have believed in our vision. I thought it would be possible to develop and grow the business and for everyone that was initially involved to stay part of the business. With growth and change, not everyone wants to stay on that journey and though I fully respect individuals’ personal decisions it does bring to a close the initial chapter in our story. Thank you to everyone that was involved in those early years, none of this would have been possible without your hard work and dedication.

Over the last few years, the Company’s capabilities have changed beyond all recognition, during the pandemic we were able to help house 100’s of people in a very short period of time who otherwise would have ended up in unsuitable accommodation. From that experience we developed our assisted housing pathways which, as I write this, house more than 400 people that are visited and supported on a daily basis.

In 2021 the Ministry of Justice awarded us the contract to run the CAS3 project in the East of England which houses 283 prison leavers on a nightly basis. And most recently over Christmas 2021, we opened an 18 bedroom property that had been boarded up and derelict for over 3 years in under 3 weeks. Colleagues moved mountains to ensure it was operational by Christmas. The initial agreement was it was to be operational for 4 months, but it has been such a success it has recently been commissioned for a further 2 years.

We currently house and look after in excess of 4,500 people on a nightly basis. I can say with certainty that we are doing good on a daily basis and we are having a positive social impact but this report formalises our work.

By nature, I am a very private person so writing all our achievements down and publicising what we do doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me. However, I do understand the importance of this report, every colleague can and should take great pride in what we have and will continue to achieve. We are continually looking to bring in the most talented and dedicated colleagues and this report will assist in that. And ultimately it will help us as a company fulfil our core goal, to house and look after more people.

A lot of hard work has gone into producing this report so I would like to thank everyone involved. This is just the start and I am looking forward to being part of our development in the coming years.

Every colleague can and should take great pride in what we have and will continue to achieve.

Marc Goodkind

FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR THE HOUSING NETWORK

I am very pleased that we have been able to produce this, our first, Social Impact Report.

As an organisation that is focused on working with public authorities to prevent homelessness, we are by design a socially minded business, however, as this report is able to showcase, the work done by our dedicated colleagues oftentimes goes above and beyond the basic remit and ensures that on a daily basis we are making a significant difference in the lives of our residents.

It is a huge responsibility to house literally thousands of vulnerable people every night. We do not take this responsibility lightly. We also recognise that the people we serve and support every day are experiencing some of the most challenging moments in their lives. We understand that our residents are unsettled, concerned and even scared about their futures and we, therefore, appreciate the importance of a house; we see it as more than a roof, more than a place to lay their heads or to leave their belongings. It is the foundation of being able to look forward to a future in which they can thrive and succeed.

Within our business we have also seen huge change over the last 12 months with a large number of new colleagues joining us. We welcome them and look forward to continuing to develop The Housing Network. Our goal is to be the preeminent provider of specialist accommodation to the public sector in the UK and we feel that we are very much on that journey.

Our growth over the past few years has not happened purely by chance or luck. Indeed, a huge amount of effort and focus goes into ensuring that we are delivering against our promises and adding value wherever possible. We work as a triumvirate; our extremely dedicated field-based colleagues, our hardworking central team operating out of Luton and of course, the Authorities that we partner with. It is only by all three coming together and working in a supportive and collaborative manner that we can achieve so much. The case studies included in this report have not occurred in insolation as many people are involved in housing and supporting our residents. I feel hugely proud to be part of an organisation that places the welfare of our residents at the centre of everything we do.

The outlook for the country and the cohorts we typically support is looking increasingly challenging. The energy crisis and broader cost of living emergency is likely to lead to difficult times with households having to make impossible decisions around paying rent or paying for heating/food.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities reported that in the first 3 months of 2022 homelessness increased by 11% so there is every prospect of a challenging next 18 months for homelessness prevention teams across the country.

Our role is to be the partner of choice for the Authorities we work with and ensure that we can help ease the pressures they are under while providing an excellent service to those residents we support.

Once again, I would like to thank all my colleagues and the external partners we work with. The achievements in this report are only possible due to your efforts.

Gary Teper

MANAGING DIRECTOR | THE HOUSING NETWORK

I feel hugely proud to be part of an organisation that places the welfare of our residents at the centre of everything we do.

Our Purpose & Passion

At The Housing Network we know that housing is more than a roof, more than a place to lay your head. It is the foundation of being able to thrive and succeed for the future.

WE ARE DRIVEN BY TWO PASSIONS:

Quality Housing

…in the right place at the right time. We have an unrivalled network of partners we work with who can provide the right type of accommodation. People need different things when they are at risk of homelessness and our dynamic and flexible model allows us to work with Local Authorities and partners to source the right homes at the right time. We take the headache out of that process and provide just what our partners need, sometimes changing week to week. Temporary accommodation is not the long-term answer but done right, it enables people to spend as little time as possible in the precarious position of being homeless.

Transformational Support

We believe that people don’t want to be in temporary accommodation for any longer than is absolutely necessary. Over the years we have developed a unique model of personal support that allows people to identify their strengths and understand their barriers to success.

This service is offered in all our accommodation to those who need it. This means that people have the right support at the right time to move on as quickly as possible. We work with partners throughout the UK to ensure that people are supported in the way that is best for them to achieve their life goals.

In some locations our partners in Local Authorities need large amounts of properties for families for a short period of time; in some locations they need less properties for single people but with a higher level of support.

We offer bespoke solutions in each area to offer the best outcomes for the people we serve and the partners we collaborate with.

Over the last year we have grown and developed this model in new areas, being able to support thousands more people into the better future they deserve.

Our housing and support are hugely flexible because we realise every individual is different, and needs different things.

Working Together For Good

QUALITY HOUSING

It was especially welcome that the entire process from go-ahead decision until the first clients were safely accommodated took just over two and a half weeks. This was critically important, as we needed to get these vulnerable people off the streets and into a warm and safe environment before the really bad weather set in.”

CLLR. ANDY MERCER NORTH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL’S EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR HOUSING AND COMMUNITY

Quality Housing

The rise of the Housing First model throughout Europe and the US demonstrates a growing understanding of the pivotal role that the right housing plays.

We carefully vet every property to ensure it meets our stringent industry standards and, more importantly, offers an appropriate, safe and dignified solution for our residents.

We operate across the whole of the UK providing solutions for over 65 Local Authorities. In the last year we have housed over 4,000 people:

Over 1,000 self-contained family homes 550 single people supported in shared accommodation

61 specialist support settings

Seen & Heard

Complex rough sleepers often need round-theclock support. We established Seen & Heard with North Northamptonshire Council to provide just this. Our 18-bed home provides temporary accommodation with the added support of 24 hours staffing and security.

Providing better and more attentive support for complex rough sleepers is something we can’t do alone. We have therefore worked with multiple agencies including:

Local outreach services Police and neighbourhood officers

Local charities and mental health services

Social services

The local authority housing options team

We have also worked closely with The Kettering Hub, Corby Outreach and the Daylight Centre.

We are pleased and proud that within the first eight weeks, six residents successfully moved into more settled or independent accommodation.

We carefully vet every property to ensure it meets our stringent industry standards.

Stories of Transformation

From receiving a call from a Local Authority or other partner agency, the average time it takes us to get a property ready and welcome a resident is 4 days. We do this because we think that people deserve to be the priority and we respond to each request as if it were for our own family.

Kelly’s Story

It can be the simplest things that trip us up on our journey, when life has been unstable for a while. Kelly had challenges in her relationship with drugs and alcohol and so we started our support for her there. Her rehabilitation was a success and she sustained her recovery, but that was only part of the journey. We supported her with financial planning, enabled her to open a bank account and establish a balance budget for future plans.

She is now living independently and working for a mental health charity. She still bumps into The Housing Network colleagues in the community and shares her daily success stories with us.

We are connected with people and communities not just when times are tough, but when the bright future emerges.

Sam’s Story

Life is sometimes complex and the barriers the future seem impossible to overcome. Sam had no local connection to any area due to being in prison for so long. He suffered with PTSD and anxiety disorder. Eventually we worked with the Local Authority and provided him with a safe and secure place to build a future.

After many hours of searching we also found a Veterans charity that agreed to a placement. This placement came with a support worker, employment support and a psychologist.

StoriesIt can be the simplest things that trip us up on our journey. Life is sometimes complex and the barriers seem impossible to overcome.

STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION

People experience homelessness because of a range a factors. Some of those are external systemic pressures and some of those are underlying challenges that individuals face.

Although people do not live with us long term we feel we have an unparalleled privilege to support and empower them in our homes.

Through our professional colleague teams and through our years of learning we know that the long-term solutions to homelessness are better achieved if people have built their capabilities and resilience. We offer a range of support programmes in many of our settings which enable people to have a positive planned move on to the next stage of the housing journey. We deliver these programmes ourselves, as well as connecting to other partners in the community who offer specialist support services.

Just the Little Things

Sometimes life is about the little things. Transformational support happens in the small interactions we have with each other, doing the simple things that make up living well in a home. When you have been without a home for a while there are many things to re-learn. Our support team do much more than mentoring and support.

We work together with our residents, learning and remembering the little things that make a difference. Sorting out the weeds sound like such a little thing. Doing it together builds tenancy skills and creates opportunities to talk about sustaining a home in the future.

Sorting out the weeds sound like such a little thing. Doing it together builds tenancy skills and creates opportunities to talk about sustaining a home in the future.

At The Housing Network we believe that housing is important but that people hold the key to the positive future they deserve.

More Than A Roof

When we first met James he had been wrestling for year with heroin addiction and was receiving a methadone support programme. Through our person-centred support programme we enabled him to engage with structured mental health support and a full rehabilitation programme. Now he has completely come off methadone and is currently working as a fork lift driver. Life isn’t always easy but we continue to support him toward his best future.

Because of our commitment to person-centred and transformational support packages, we have been able to enable positive planned move on to the next step of many individual journeys. Each year we offer over 30,000 hours of tailored, personal support to our residents.

The average length of stay in our homes is 10 months and after that time people move on to their next step home.

73% of our residents have a positive move on from our cluster homes.

68% of our residents have a positive move on from our enhanced services for those with higher support needs.

85% of our residents in our enhanced supported self-accommodation schemes have a positive move on.

Each year we offer over 30,000 hours of tailored, personal support to our residents.

STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION

Judge a book not by its cover, but by the chapter at the end of the book.

Rahul’s Story

For some people all that is needed is a hand up not a hand out. When Rahul joined us as a resident he was hugely unmotivated from day one. Life had been tough but a few weeks of stability and support was all he needed. He found himself in employment with an agency. This was the start of the route to the life he wanted to have. Taking responsibility for his own accommodation

journey, he worked hard and saved up enough money to be able to afford a private rented property.

There is no one size fits all solution for those who have experience homelessness. A listening ear and the right support in the right place at the right time enables people to make choices. Having choices enables the future you desire.

James’s Story

At The Housing Network we have a culture that judges a book not by its cover, but by the chapter at the end of the book. We see the potential a person holds within them. James, like many people, came to The Housing Network when life was at its toughest. He engaged with our personcentred support planning programme and for James the key ambition was employment.

We believe in the power of people’s potential and we believe in putting your money where your heart is.

Having people with lived experience of homelessness enhances our offer and our team. At The Housing Network and we are proud that James has now made the transition from a resident to a valued colleague.

For some people all that’s needed is a hand up, not a hand out.

Powerful Partnerships

Homelessness is one of the most challenging issues our society faces. The financial cost to individuals and to society is significant but much more significant is the cost to individuals and families. We do all we can to support people at this most critical time in their life journey. Big problems require big solutions and these are always better delivered in partnership.

We offer a seamless service to our partners in Local Authorities and institutions like the

The Start of the Journey to Hope…

For nearly a year the complexities of Simeon’s life meant he had been unable to sustain any temporary accommodation offered to him. In September 2021 he was found rough sleeping in an alleyway in Leicester. We received a call from the Local Authority asking us to accommodate Simeon as he was unable to access all other services as well as he had been evicted from bed and breakfast.

This was to be short term whilst they looked for other accommodation. Simeon was alcohol dependent, had grand mal epilepsy and displayed challenging behaviour towards colleagues and other residents.

A decision was made that we would allow Simeon the opportunity within our service and support him with a multi-Agency approach. There were many ups and downs including fallouts with other residents, outbursts of anger towards colleagues, serious fits causing physical injuries and ongoing challenges with his life skills.

During Simeon’s time with us, Social Services made the decision that he had community care needs and was assessed as being suitable for supported accommodation. This was a huge result and had taken many assessments and meetings between the services involved.

Ministry of Justice. Partnership means that we play our part and flex our model so that every single individual receives the housing and support they need, when they need it, in the location that is best for them and their family.

Because of these powerful partnerships, in the last year we have worked with over 65 Local Authorities and in a growing partnership with the Ministry of Justice.

Big problems require big solutions, and these are always better delivered in partnership.

…Sometimes There Are Happy Endings

Simeon had lost contact with his mother who was living in Scotland and an agreement had been made that next step after sustaining his accommodation would be to support Simeon to travel to Glasgow to see if we could find his mother. This trip was arranged and The Housing Network team, with his Local Authority support worker travelled to Glasgow and were able to locate his mother. This was a huge day for Simeon and contact continued when he returned.

Simeon abstained from alcohol whilst with us which meant that his epilepsy was much more controlled.

After several months in our accommodation, with intense support from a range of services, Simeon has now moved into independent accommodation.

We also know that choosing the appropriate, safe and dignified housing option from The Housing Network is significantly cheaper than using bed and breakfast accommodation.

We believe this enables Local Authorities to do more with their budget and to invest in those services that create long term positive change.

We know that the transformational support we offer can be a lifesaving service to our residents.

POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS

In the last year we have saved our partners over

ON AN AVERAGE SAVING OF £15 PER RESIDENT PER NIGHT, COMPARED WITH BED AND BREAKFAST COSTS.

This issue of homelessness touches us all, old and young. We work not in isolation but as part of the communities we serve, to give the best possible outcomes to those who need them most.

In Wellingborough, the children at All Saints CEVA Primary School had a party. They had some of the party food left and they wanted to donate it to the residents at the Seen & Heard. The headteacher, Emma Johnson, dropped the food off and all the residents enjoyed the unexpected treat.

Making A Difference

The Places We Call Home

We’ve worked with 65+ Councils across:

East of England London South East South West West Midlands East Midlands Scotland

Over the last year we have supported 4,000 individuals and families, in locations all over the UK, providing that first step of support for people to create houses and communities they call home.

Edinburgh City Council

The Problem

Having been placed on the Council’s framework following a competitive tendering process, we met with the Housing Team in Edinburgh. The Team highlighted the challenges of the local market and their belief that we were unlikely to supply suitable accommodation for their framework at the price tendered.

The Outcome

We set up an office, employed capable individuals and sourced and supplied 150 self-contained properties in a six month period.

“Edinburgh is a notoriously difficult city to find properties in, but The Housing Network exceeded my expectations by supplying good quality accommodation, which has helped our service users hugely.”

HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING SUPPORT SERVICES EDINBURGH CITY COUNCIL

Creating Social Value

We recognise the importance of value for the partners we support and in the last year we have enhanced our offering by mapping all our activities against the national TOM’s Social Value Framework.

We support the importance of this tool for delivering the greatest value for public money and have analysed the added value of all our service activities, against the key targets of:

Social Value is the quantification of the relative importance that people place on the changes they experience in their lives. The Public Services (Social Value) Act came into force on 31 January 2013 and it requires people who commission public services to think about how they can also secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits.

Before they start the procurement process, commissioners always think about whether the services they are going to buy, or the way they are going to buy them, could secure these benefits for their area or stakeholders. The Act is, therefore, a tool to help commissioners get more value for money out of procurement.

Jobs: Supporting organisations to promote local skills and employment.

Growth: Supporting the growth of responsible regional business.

Social: Creating healthier, safer and more resilient communities.

Environment: Decarbonising and safeguarding our planet.

Innovation: Promoting social innovation.

In all our partnerships, as well as offering great homes and transformational support we also offer a range of social value activities, to maximise the impact of our work for the whole community.

As well as offering great homes and transformational support, we also offer a range of social value activities to maximise the impact of our work.

CREATING SOCIAL VALUE

Future Focused

Future Focused

Now, more than ever, we see a growing need for great quality housing and transformational support.

When we started The Housing Network, we imagined our services would be required for a limited time. We have come to believe, over the years, that isn’t true. Now, more than ever we see a growing need for great quality housing and transformational support.

This year we have increased the number of homes we can offer, and have invested in support of our offering. We have partnered with new organisations to offer our services to a greater range of people. We have founded a new charity to offer even more medium-term support to individuals and families, supporting them to make the transition into stable housing.

We share a passion with our partners throughout the UK that homelessness should always be rare, brief and non-recurring. Whilst this is not the case we will invest and innovate, we will learn and develop to offer the best service we can to those who need it most.

We do all we can because we believe that people deserve the very best and we offer more than a roof to those we are privileged to meet each day.