Memorandum by Off the Streets and into
Work (OSW) (HOM 17)
The key strand of the ODPM inquiry into homelessness
that OSW would like addressed is whether the non-housing services
provided for homeless people are adequate and are coordinated
with housing provision.
Contemporary solutions to homelessness have
to place central importance on the range of needs faced by individuals.
While housing is perhaps the most obvious and important issue,
homelessness is about a more complex set of problems, which require
an interconnected menu of solutions. In and of itself, availability
of housing does not prevent homelessness, nor solve it.
The key issue that Off the Streets and into
Work wants to submit to the inquiry for consideration, is supporting
homeless people to get (back) into employment as part of an integrated
menu of services.
Indeed, supporting people back into employment,
as we will later discuss, could relieve the great strain on social
housing that much of the ODPM inquiry is set up to address.
OSW has been successful in raising the profile
of training and employment (T&E) programmes within the homelessness
sector over the nine years that we have existed. It is increasingly
recognised by homelessness agencies that people's aspirations
to learn and work can be vital in their bid to escape homelessness.
However, T&E is still often perceived as
an "add-on", rather than an area that has to be a core
part of the service menu. Even an agency such as OSW, with a proven
and substantial track record in delivering T&E services to
the "hardest to help", has found it difficult to access
funding to deliver such services. Any ODPM strategy into providing
sustainable solutions, we believe, should integrate T&E programmes.
We are not suggesting that there needs to be a huge expansion
in T&E services, rather that such services are recognised
and securely resourced as part of the provision designed to tackle
homelessness.
WELFARE TO
WORK AND
HOMELESSNESS
Welfare to Work strategies are increasingly
targeting multiply disadvantaged groups, but homelessness is not
a theme that is currently recognised. We know from our 2004 client
survey, that 79% of individuals we talked to were ready to and
wanted to work. Of the 21% who did not feel ready for work right
now, 92% still had aspirations to work in the future. These statistics
are highly significant, and need to be looked at in the context
of current and anticipated shortages in the London labour market.
We believe there needs to be greater connectivity
between Jobcentre Plus and between strategies to address homelessness.
This presents a real opportunity for a cross-departmental strategy
to tackle homelessness and unemployment, especially as the DWP
embark on "Building on New Deal" for multiply disadvantaged
groups.
HOSTEL RESIDENTS
A greater availability of T&E services and
support for transition into employment for London's hostel residents
could ease the burden on the social housing stock, as more people
will be able to move directly into the private rented sector.
The GLA report "Silting Up" (2003) estimated that about
30% of current residents, most of whom had no or low support needs,
were ready to move-on from hostels without anywhere to move on
to. If there was a more concerted drive to support these individuals
to engage in and move towards employment or employability initiatives
the "silt-up" could be reduced.
It is increasingly recognised, indeed within
the ODPM's own "More than a Roof" report that "homeless
people are part of the solution and not the problem". Placing
individuals'—and this is important—realistic aspirations
to work at the heart of ODPM's homelessness strategy, will empower
vulnerable people. This is not just rhetoric. We see from our
work with 4,000 individuals each year that with the right conditions,
and with the right support, people can and do move on to employment—and
leave homelessness behind. Last year 9% of individuals who accessed
our services went into employment, 18% went on to further education
or training, and 7% achieved qualifications. These statistics
are remarkable in light of the fact that we are working with people
who are multiply disadvantaged.
What OSW's work is doing is not a supplementary
initiative that is peripheral to the real issue of housing. What
needs to be recognised by policy at various levels (labour market,
education and skills, social exclusion, child poverty, neighbourhood
renewal, regeneration, sustainable communities etc) is that supporting
homeless people to move towards employment has a diverse range
of positive impacts.
ABOUT OSW
Off the Streets and into Work (OSW) is a registered
charity with unrivalled expertise in providing training and employment
services to people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless,
across London.
We collaborate with a range of strategic and
service delivery partners to offer joined-up solutions to some
of the complex problems that face people at the margins of society. www.osw.org.uk
Linda Butcher
Chief Executive, OSW
16 September 2004
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