Minister visits Queens Cross as report launched on supported housing
The Minister for Housing joined SFHA and others on a visit to Queens Cross Housing Association's supported housing for young people.
The Minister for Housing was at Queens Cross Housing Association on Wednesday as SFHA joined Homeless Network Scotland to launch a report on the future of supported housing as a response to homelessness.
Ahead of a webinar from the Supported Housing Task and Finish Group, which was co-chaired by SFHA's policy lead Eileen McMullan and Homeless Network Scotland's Maggie Brunjes, the Minister saw first-hand some of the supported housing accommodation offered by Queens Cross.
Through the association's Housing First for Young People programme, Queens Cross provide high-quality accommodation and flexible support for those between the ages of 16 and 25.
Among the recommendations from the Supported Housing Task and Finish Group was that national and local emergency plans should prioritise work focused on reducing temporary accommodation and the better targeting of shared and supported forms of housing.
The report also recommended offering supported housing among a range of options in response to homelessness, and that it should be offered as a settled option for as long as someone wants it.
The Minister for Housing, Paul McLennan MSP, said the Scottish Government would consider the report's recommendations and praised the work going on at Queens Cross Housing Association through the Housing First for Young People programme.
SFHA Chief Executive Sally Thomas, said: “It’s essential that our housing system is fair and meets everyone’s needs, particularly at a time of a national housing emergency and record homelessness.
“This vital report sets out the importance of a joined-up, multi-agency approach and one of the core aims is to help to reduce the stigma of supported housing.
“Queens Cross Housing Association, like many SFHA members across Scotland, not only provide warm, affordable homes, but also offer supported housing to help individuals overcome many of the barriers associated with homelessness.
Shona Stephen, Queens Cross Housing Association Chief Executive, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Housing Minister to our new housing development for young people. We are very proud of the exceptional quality of accommodation provided by Queens Cross Housing Association and by its Housing First for Young People support team.
“We work together to provide homes for young people and the support needed to allow them to flourish in their tenancies. Our success is rooted in kindness, in never giving up and in a shared commitment to our young people across the organisation from staff to Board Members. The benefits of close collaboration between the support team and the landlord can be seen in the successes achieved by the young people themselves.”
Maggie Brunjes, Homeless Network Scotland Chief Executive and co-chair of the Task and Finish Group, said: “Homelessness policy has undergone radical modernisation in recent years and transforming the way supported housing is used to support a small group of people is the final piece of the puzzle.
“While this report arrives in a landscape dominated by the housing emergency, it sets out all the evidence and the steps needed to reframe supported housing as an option that will help to address homelessness for people facing a range of social, health and economic disadvantages. Queens Cross Housing Association provides an excellent example of how that is done.”