Foreword
Homelessness is the ultimate form of exclusion for citizens and has far-reaching consequences for those affected and the people around them. It is important to recognise that homelessness can affect anyone but that some people are more at risk than others.
We can all make a positive contribution to designing out homelessness. As part of continuous and intentional processes, even small changes can add up to having a substantial and positive impact. By working together and focussing on getting help to people as early as possible, we can make a real difference.
"Everyone should have a place to call home. A place to feel safe, to take pride in and provide the secure foundation for work and family life.
Without a secure home, too many people’s potential is lost, too many children’s education harmed, and everyone in society loses out, because homelessness is the ultimate exclusion from the opportunity to play a part in society.
That’s why when I was elected as Mayor in May 2017, one of my first actions was to set up the Homelessness Taskforce. Whilst the West Midlands Combined Authority may not have any formal responsibility for tackling the problem, I felt it was our responsibility to do all we could to help tackle and prevent homelessness in our region.
The Homelessness Taskforce is drawing on our collective resources across the region to design out homelessness, in all its forms. Our collaboration involving local councils, public services, charities, voluntary groups and business, means we can work together to tackle the broader systemic issues that can contribute to homelessness. Ensuring our mainstream systems work for people and help keep them included rather than excluded is fundamental to preventing homelessness.
We hope this new toolkit will help your organisation do just that, bringing together the practical actions your organisation, network or partnership can take to prevent homelessness by establishing a voluntary Commitment to Collaborate to Prevent and Relieve Homelessness. If we can work together to end the exclusion that homelessness leads to, more people will have that secure foundation upon which to achieve their potential –something which benefits us all."
Andy Street
Mayor of the West Midlands
"Homelessness is complex and multi- faceted and affects thousands of individuals and families across the country. We know that it cannot be tackled in isolation and requires a holistic approach that can only be provided through strong collaboration by a range of agencies across the statutory, voluntary, community and business sectors.
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 extended the legal responsibilities of local authorities and certain public bodies with the ‘duty to refer’ those who they think may be threatened with homelessness to local authority teams, demonstrating the need for everyone to play their part in identifying those people and families at risk.
Our collaborative work in the West Midlands has illustrated the benefit of going beyond the duty to refer by developing a voluntary commitment to collaborate to prevent and relieve homelessness. As Chair of the Members Advisory Group for the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce, the Cabinet Members responsible for homelessness across the region have supported the development of this toolkit, building on our regional collaborative experience.
Designing out homelessness requires intentional, perpetual attention because there is rarely a one-off, one-time fix. This means addressing the risks leading to homelessness at the earliest possible stage, providing those at risk of homelessness with access to good and trusted support at the right time and ensuring the protective systems which help sustain a home, job, healthy relationships and good health are accessible to all."