1. Westminster Joint Homelessness Team
Homelessness Prevention Initiative
‘Don’t worry – you’ll be allocated a
Social Worker. They’ll get you a flat
In Westminster’
Realistic housing solutions – changing
ward cultures

2. HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION INITIATIVE

3. Identification
• 27th Jan 2014 – 31st March 2015

4. Identification
Age
18-25 (n=21)
26-34 (n=52)
35-44 (n=56)
45-54 (n=38)
55-64 (n=18)
65-74 (n=4)
• Younger population than JHT Outreach
•Fewer entrenched rough sleepers
•Preventative work with younger people

5. Identification
Gender
Female (55)
Male (130)
Transgender (4)
•More women than JHT Outreach

6. Identification
Nationality (quarter-on-quarter Q1 – Q4 14/15)
0
5
10
15
20
25
American
Bermudan
Brazilian
British
Bulgarian
Chinese
Congolese
Czech
Dutch
Eritrean
Ethiopian
French
German
GreekCypriot
Guinea-Bissau
Iranian
Iraqi
Irish
Italian
IvoryCoast
Jamaican
Japanese
Kenyan
Kuwaiti
Nigerian
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Swiss
SouthAfrican
Somalian
Spanish
Swedish
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4

7. Identification
Types of homelessness
Rough-sleeper (unverified) 15
Rough-sleeper (verified) 7
Other non-MH homeless hostel
2
Other 6
Tenancy at risk 6
LA temporary accommodation 1
• Quarter 4 14/15 figures (typical of the whole project)
• Many people are new to the streets
•‘Other’ includes staying with friends, family and in a hostel (all unsustainable)

8. Identification
Diagnoses (since the beginning of the project until end of Q4)
ICD Classification
F00 - F09 (Organic, including
symptomatic mental disorders)
F10 - F19 (Mental and
Behavioural Disorders due to
psychoactive substances)
F20 - F29 (Schizophrenia,
schizotypal and delusional
disorders)
F30 - F39 (Mood [affective]
disorders)
F40 -F49 (Neurotic, stress-
related and somatoform
disorders)
F60 - F69 (Disorders of adult
personality and behaviour)

9. Contact
• Attending whiteboard meetings
• Contact with bed managers
• Contact within 2 working days
• Beginning health and social care assessment
• Delivering the ‘right’ message re: entitlements

10. Reconnection offer
• Changing ward culture (service users and staff)
“He’s got his own flat so you will too”
“Your social worker will come and sort out your benefits”

11. Reconnection offer
• Changing the culture in community services
Case study:
- Italian national with no work history in the UK
- Under secondary services mental health services
- Currently in supported accommodation under s.117 (Mental
Health Act, 1983) but limited accommodation options as his
health improves

12. Reconnection offer
• Working with London Reconnections, Barka and the
Enhanced Reconnection Service
Case study:
- Portuguese national who had arrived to the UK a few days
prior to admission
- Plans to work in the UK never materialised
- Difficult relationships with family in Portugal
- Support from Thamesreach Reconnections to
establish himself in Portugal

13. Reconnection offer
• Working with embassies
Case studies:
Norwegian woman with a significant history of self harm
Joint working with the embassy:
- Liaising with the hospital in Norway
- Liaising with the insurance company to fund the repatriation
- Organising a timely repatriation with the
inpatient team

14. Reconnection destinations outside the UK
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Total Reconnections Outside the UK
Total Reconnections Outside the UK

15. Reconnection destinations within the UK
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Total Reconnections Within the UK
Total Reconnections Within the UK

16. Reconnection offer
• More success in reconnecting women than men (87% versus
69% across the project to date)
• Women tend to come from more affluent European
countries
• Reason for coming to London tends to be illness-driven
rather than working-seeking

17. Health and Social Care assessments
• Assessments completed within 28 days
• Provide information on eligibility and options as soon as
possible
• Relationships with inpatient services, statutory and
voluntary sectors are key
• HPI and the NRPF panel – streamlining
making decision process

18. Housing Outcomes
Housing status on closure (homeless on admission) Q4 14/15
TA in-borough 2
TA outside the borough 1
SPHP 2
Suported non-MH in-borough 2
Outside the UK 9
Discharge to the streets 5
Other 9

19. Housing Outcomes
Housing status on closure (Tenancy at Risk) Q4
Pre-existing tenancy (5)
Alternative in-borough accommodation (2)

20. Case Studies
Pathways:
- 27 year old British man with a long history of homelessness
- Was under children’s and leaving care services
- Not sustained a tenancy previously
- Self harm history in the context of difficult life circumstances
- Required support to negotiate systems

21. Health and Social Care assessments
• HPI and the Ethics Committee
- Nigerian man who has been in the UK since 2001
- Visa overstayer and no recourse to public funds
- Admission to hospital after an altercation at a mosque
- Diagnosis of schizophrenia but functions at a reasonable level
- Consultant unwilling to discharge to the streets

22. Peer Support Navigation
• Peer Support Workers are integral to the working of the
team
• Authenticity of the message
• Assistance with practical tasks
• First person part of the core assessments

23. HPI’s future
• Expansion from Westminster into Kensington and Chelsea
• Recruiting another Social Worker and Peer Support Worker