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Victoria Tischler looks at research on a resettlement service for homeless and vulnerable families in Leicester, one of few UK services of its type.

Leicester Council’s housing department has developed a resettlement service for homeless and vulnerable families with partners including Sure Start. Research by the University of Leicester’s department of child and adolescent psychiatry examines housing problems experienced by families in the context of developing the new role of family outreach support worker.

The Beaumont Leys Independent Support Service (Bliss) was established to support single people aged between 16 and 25, and families with children up to the age of 16, with housing problems in the Beaumont Leys area of Leicester, which has a large number of vacant properties and high turnover rates.

Two groups of participants included one from hostels for homeless families and one of recently rehoused families served by the Bliss team.

A key feature has been the use of research findings to develop the service from the start, rather than merely evaluate it, taking account of the qualitative views of homeless families.  

Key findings are:

- The homeless group expressed high levels of unmet need regarding housing and resettlement issues, whereas the rehoused families’ needs - though similar - were met by Bliss.  

- There was a high level of satisfaction with the Bliss interventions. Families appreciated the holistic nature of the service that responded to a wide range of needs.

- This comprehensive, needs-based and open-ended support has proved a real incentive to homeless families, reversing the trend of moving out of the unpopular Beaumont Leys area.

- The service is based in a shop front in a local shopping centre, which has made it readily accessible to families housed in the area. Flyers also proved valuable in spreading information about the service.

With most research in this area coming from the US and very little from the UK, this research has proved to be truly innovative.   

Services need to show they are effective in addressing consistently empty properties in unpopular areas. Working with people from unsettled backgrounds, often with a history of violence and mental ill-health, they also need to be flexible and driven by needs.

Homeless families tend to be “invisible”. Unlike homeless teenagers who are often based on the streets, families are housed out of sight in hostel and bed and breakfast accommodation, and we have been slow to recognise the kind of services they need.

Across the country there are the diametrically opposed problems of homelessness and vacant properties in “undesirable” areas. However, this is no longer the case in Leicester because of a concerted effort by the housing department to address issues of low demand by introducing neighbourhood nuisance teams and supported housing schemes, for example. The city has seen a notable increase in demand for social housing as more people are applying to the council register.

The Bliss team offers incentives such as decorating and furniture grants, budgeting advice, and even education for young mothers. All this contributes towards making the properties in which families are rehoused feel more like their own homes, and keeps them in touch with the caring services they have come to trust.

Homelessness crosses generations: many mothers remember being in hostels with their own mothers. It is important to break this cycle. The perception that a needs-based service is expensive is a short-term view that does not take into account the costs associated with homelessness - health, housing and social - that are already being borne by society.

- The report, A Resettlement Service for Homeless and Vulnerable Parents, is available from the department of child and adolescent psychiatry, Greenwood Institute, Westcotes Drive, Leicester, LE3 0QU

Victoria Tischler is a research associate, University of Leicester.