About Routes Home

Routes Home is a service supporting non UK Nationals who are rough sleeping in London.

We know that rough sleeping is harmful and dangerous and that if we are to end rough sleeping in London we must provide bespoke support to Non UK nationals.

In particular, we believe that all individuals deserve rapid access to assessment and immigration advice so they can understand their rights and entitlements and make positive decisions about their future.

Our role is to work with individuals to understand their needs, motivations and hopes for the future and work with them to identify a sustainable route away from the street whether this be in the UK or elsewhere.

On this page you’ll find information about our service, referral forms, best practice guides and links to other information that you may find helpful.

Maximising Options

We know that a ‘route home’ can mean different things for different people and as a result the service has the following elements.

  • Support for individuals who wish to return to their home outside of the UK. This means that we help people to access immigration advice to understand their rights and entitlements, and work with them to develop a reconnection plan, which includes accommodation that meets their needs, so that they do not return to homelessness anywhere else in the world.
  • Immigration advice and casework for individuals who need to resolve their immigration situation via the Resolution list.
  • Our EUSS service provides access to immigration advice for those making an application to the EU Settlement Scheme.
  • Employment support for individuals for whom employment is a route out of homeless. We currently offer this via GLA Turn around hubs in partnership with Beam.

Making a referral to Routes Home

Routes Home can provide general advice and signposting. You can contact the team on 0203 092 7455. Alternatively, you can email RHS-Referrals@mungos.org .

If you would like to refer a client for a supported reconnection please complete this form or call us for a quick chat.

You can find details of national embassies to contact here.

What is reconnection?

A reconnection is a piece of work to support an individual to return safely to their home outside the UK. A reconnection should always involve the following elements.

  1. Immigration advice so the individual understands their rights and entitlement and can make an informed decision about if they want to reconnect. This includes understanding the implications of leaving the UK on their current status.
  2. A safe travel plan and sustainable accommodation in the area where they are travelling to so they do not risk returning to rough sleeping.
  3. Support to link in with welfare, health and welling support in their area they are returning so they can continue with their recovery.
What is supported reconnection?

A supported reconnection is where a staff member supports an individuals to return by travelling with them and making sure they are safely linked in on arrival. This is essential for clients who have higher support needs.

You can see our best practice guide here.

Are you sleeping rough?

The Routes Home Service can only take referrals from partner services working with people sleeping rough, such as street outreach teams and No Second Night Out.

If you are sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough, you should in the first instance approach your local authority housing options team for the appropriate advice and assistance.

You can also let street outreach teams know you are rough sleeping and require support, by raising an alert via the StreetLink.

If you do not have access to the internet, you can also call StreetLink on 0300 500 0914. Calls will cost the same as any other local call made from a UK landline or mobile phone, but you can ask the team to call you back. Interpreters are available on request.

If you are eligible for Routes Home, the street outreach team may then refer you to the Routes.