Homeless Link’s Transatlantic Practice Exchange 2018
The Transatlantic Practice Exchange 2018, a partnership between Homeless Link in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the National Alliance to End Homelessness in the United States (U.S.), features a group of front line staff from the U.S.) and U.K.) homelessness sector. This year, co-production and performing arts are particular areas of focus. Some topics from the U.K. include responding to long-term street homelessness; peer support and community involvement in rural homelessness settings; and using theatre to involve people with lived experience. U.S. participants will explore coordination and multi-agency working for better outcomes in criminal justice; the impact of engaging people experiencing homelessness in the performing arts; and more. Read more on the Homeless Link website, linked below, and stay updated on the Exchange using #homelesslearning.
Read the article here.
A Typology for Homelessness Prevention
On the Canadian Homeless Hub blog, Riana Fisher discusses the typology of homelessness prevention, consisting of five categories aimed at organizing various activities necessary to prevent homelessness. It addresses the legislation, policies, funding, collaborative practices, service delivery, and interventions vital to prevention. Structural prevention reduces systemic factors that contribute to housing instability and social exclusion – focusing on the population at various levels. Systems prevention focuses on the role of public systems, which can be broken down into three components: fixing policy and procedural barriers; enhancing access to public systems, services, and appropriate supports; and reintegration supports. Early prevention consist of policies, practices, and strategies targeted at individuals and families at great risk of, or who have just entered homelessness. Evictions prevention, aimed at protecting those at risk of eviction, begins with landlords-tenant rights and responsibilities. Lastly, housing stability is a tertiary form of prevention that assists people who have experienced homelessness with achieving and maintaining stable housing.
Read the blog here.
The National Conference on Ending Homelessness and Capitol Hill Day
The United States National Alliance on Ending Homelessness expects to gather 2,000 attendees in Washington D.C at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness and Capitol Hill Day. The events will be held Monday, July 23 through Wednesday, July 25, 2018. Participants will have a chance to learn about and discuss topics such as housing programs and support services; system and practice strategies; and Rapid Re-housing. The events will also allow for networking with other attendees and meeting with members of congress and staff to discuss efforts toward ending homelessness. Early registration is now open!
Register here.
Domestic Abuse and Housing: Bringing Together Research and Practice
Dora Welker, postgraduate researcher at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland studying domestic abuse, poverty and homelessness, reflects on the Domestic Abuse and Housing: Bringing Together Research and Practice conference that addressed the relationship between domestic abuse relationships and access to housing. During the conference, convened by the Chartered Institute of Housing and the University of Essex’s Centre for Criminology, she learned the significance of access to suitable housing in facilitating a woman’s decision to leave a domestic-violent relationship. On Heriot-Watt’s I-SPHERE and Urban Institute blog, she discussed the emphasis placed on the role of landlords in supporting tenants seeking to compromise housing agreements in order to flee such relationships. Welker also shares lessons about incorporating housing in a coordinated community response to domestic violence, drawing on interviews with individuals within the housing service sector.
Read the blog here.