Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan
The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) was set up by the Scottish Government in October 2017 to produce short and long-term solutions to end homelessness and rough sleeping. Led by best evidence, the cornerstone of recommendations to address homelessness is a transition to a Rapid Rehousing approach utilising a Housing First model where necessary.
Rapid rehousing utilises a housing led approach for rehousing people who have experienced homelessness, making sure they reach a settled housing option as quickly as possible, with time spent in temporary accommodation reduced to a minimum. Where people require temporary accommodation it should be mainstream housing, furnished and within a community location which minimises disruption to their daily lives.
The Housing First model works on the premise that a safe, secure, settled home is the best base for recovery for people who face multiple disadvantages beyond housing including childhood and early years trauma; domestic abuse; mental ill health; addictions; and time spent in local authority care or prison. It offers personalised, open-ended, flexible support for people to help end their experience of homelessness and address their wider needs. The model separates the provision of housing and support, offers choice and control to tenants and works to the principles of harm reduction.
Those who are homeless and for whom rapid rehousing or Housing First would not yet be suitable (either because they do not want to move into mainstream accommodation, or because their specific needs dictate that they cannot safely be rehoused in mainstream accommodation) should be provided with accommodation which deals with their particular needs with the required specialist support. For this smaller group, specialist units within a psychologically informed environment are most suitable.
As a result, Inverclyde Council developed a five (5) years Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan with a broad vision ‘To reduce the need for temporary accommodation by enabling homeless households to access settled accommodation quickly and with the right support to achieve housing sustainment’.
To help to realise this vision, four (4) high level objectives were prescribed. These are:
- Reduce the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness
- Enable service users with no/low support needs to access settled housing quickly
- Implement a Housing First model which enables excluded service users to achieve housing sustainment
- Enable service users who need specialist supported housing to access commissioned HSCP services.
At the end of the period 2022-23, Inverclyde completed a review of the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan to identify and outline the areas where the service had seen progresses and which areas required a continued or new focus. The review highlighted that despite increasing national pressures, the ongoing work within the RRTP and ongoing Change Programme meant that Inverclyde was beginning to see improvement in areas where other Local Authorities were struggling and that the service was better meeting the needs of households who found themselves in housing difficulty.
For further information, please contact:
Housing Options and Homelessness Advice Services,
98 Dalrymple Street, Greenock PA15 1BZ
Telephone: 01475 715880
Email: HOHAS@inverclyde.gov.uk