We want a homelessness support system that is collaborative, joined up, grounded in lived experience and responsive to individual needs.
At St Mungo’s, we believe that our operational expertise and the lived experience of our clients can help policymakers create
effective systemic change, working towards ending homelessness for good.
Our policy positions sit within three pillars that reflect the key issues we must address to meet our mission of ending homelessness:
Explore these key areas below and where we’re working with government to influence national and local policy.
Focusing on immediate support, ending current homelessness, recovery, move on and preventing repeat homelessness.
Focusing on preventing homelessness where risk is immediate, imminent or within the statutory prevention window.
Focusing on addressing the systems and life events that cause homelessness. Particularly looking at the 10 years before someone becomes homeless and on groups at higher risk.
Increase long term delivery of social and affordable housing.
Create new economic measures and support to address the cost of living crisis and prevent individuals falling into homelessness.
At St Mungo’s we are committed to supporting people sleeping rough to find sustainable routes off the streets. For many non-UK nationals we work with this includes exploring options and entitlements in the UK as well as sustainable options abroad.
Immigration law is complicated and poor quality advice can have significant consequences for the individual involved. As a result, St Mungo’s is committed to ensuring our clients gain access to appropriate and independent immigration advice so that they can make informed choices. St Mungo’s is regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) and authorised to provide immigration advice and services up to OISC Level 1 (limited to the EU Settlement Scheme only).
In addition we are able to support our clients to access a range of external immigration advisers and solicitors ensuring people with more complex immigration matters get the most appropriate advice, and are fully informed of the options available to them.
Where necessary we also provide advice and support regarding international reconnection. For some people, returning to their country of nationality, or another country in which they have entitlements, can be the most sustainable route out of rough sleeping. Support to reconnect is always offered on a voluntary basis and we will never share information with the Home Office for the purposes of reconnection without the client’s full and informed consent.
Increase funding for outreach teams, expand accommodation models such as No Second Night Out (NSNO), better utilise opportunities such as the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) and assess support needs for vehicle dwellers.
Improve local authority capacity and remove barriers for people experiencing homelessness by:
Move from verification to needs-based assessments, sharing learnings from areas where verification has ended such as Bristol.
Fund dedicated services for people experiencing long term rough sleeping and expand successful local approaches, strategically allocating resources between people who are new to rough sleeping and people who have been sleeping rough for a long time.
Ensure people understand their rights and available support, using accessible communications (including addressing language barriers) and tackling stigma around homelessness that can push people further from support.
Increase and sustain funding and enhance commissioning practices.
Ensure people access the right service first time and commission services for protected characteristic groups across local authority boundaries
Fund dedicated services for people experiencing long term rough sleeping and expand successful local approaches, strategically allocating resources between people who are new to rough sleeping and people who have been sleeping rough for a long time.
Increase specialist support for clients with complex needs, fund specialist services, provide better training for mainstream services and creating better multi agency working.
Improve understanding of dual diagnosis through improved training and more programming to support individuals with dual diagnoses.
Advocate for all public services to become more Psychologically informed, sharing St Mungo’s best practice work in this space
Develop semi-supported accommodation to support
clients towards independence.
Commissioned services should include funding for
roles focused on client progression, move on and life skills.
Ensure the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented, improve Private Rented Sector affordability and access to rent deposit schemes for people experiencing homelessness.
Local authorities should develop new allocations policies that prioritise people with experience of homelessness in social housing allocations.
Fund and expand tenancy support services to enable move on, address ‘anti social behaviour’ and prevent repeat homelessness.
Expand peer support, legal advice and learning, training and employment.
Fund support for budgeting, benefits and income maximisation, including training on homelessness within job centres.
Expand tailored employment, training and apprenticeship opportunities.
Developed by the Mayor of London as part of the commitment to ending rough sleeping in the capital by 2030, Ending Homelessness Hubs provide 24/7 support to those most at risk of sleeping rough.
We welcome the Mayor’s ambition to end the verification-based model for accessing help and his investment in Ending Homelessness Hubs, which will ensure St Mungo’s can be there for people before they reach these crisis points. We are proud to be playing such a central role in their delivery. We know this can only be achieved nationally and long term with a whole system approach and look to the Government to show the same commitment and efficiency.
Fund housing support from day one in Home Office accommodation, improve coordination between services and speed up benefit application processing timeframes
Increase access to homelessness prevention advice, including benefits, immigration, rent arrears and tenancy support.
Increased funding for tenancy sustainment and floating support services, and work with social housing providers to raise awareness of homelessness risk factors and improve access to tenancy sustainment services.
Address how immigration status can increase the risk of destitution and homelessness among people with no recourse to public funds.
Advocate for healthcare services to take on a larger role in identifying and supporting patients at risk of homelessness.
Improve inclusion health practices to help address unmet health needs that could lead to homelessness, with a focus on mental health and alcohol/substance use.
Improve affordability of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) to prevent people falling into homelessness, including
unfreezing Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.
Focusing on prison leavers, Home Office accommodation, hospitals, mental health services and care leavers. Work with specialist organisations to highlight how policy changes affect homelessness.
