The Delivery of Housing Services in the UK - Essay Example

ID No. The delivery of housing services in the UK The United Kingdom has one of the highest levels of homelessness in Europe, and one of the major problems is that many young people who are not in education, employment or training end up being homeless at some stage. Under the Housing Act (1996), local councils have a duty to provide accommodation for some people who are homeless and the legislation contains reforms to help protect the most vulnerable in society. The organisation I work for supports people who have experienced homelessness and their complex and multiple needs demand a range of support services to help them move on and live independent lives. Effective prevention of homelessness is important, and this requires the creation of affordable housing for youths. Several organisations provide temporary accommodation; however, the need for suitable housing for youths has not been met. The shortage of social housing is apparent and acute in many areas of the country. Many of the individuals I come into contact with have drug/alcohol issues and I work closely with the organisation Lifeline in order to help and support them. This organisation provides a wide range of drug and alcohol services for adults and young people, for example, harm minimisation services, needle exchange, drop in, and day programmes. Lifeline also carries out research and publishes materials concerning drug and alcohol abuse. The importance of the involvement of the service user is stressed, and the organisation values the input and expertise of the people directly affected by the abuse. Another joint working arrangement is with Inward House Projects. This organisation provides residential rehabilitation and is one of the major voluntary drug service providers in the North West. Inward House Projects provide services such as detox, full aftercare provision, structured day care, supported housing and floating support. They work together with several organisations in order to provide the best possible services: voluntary and statutory drug agencies, the criminal justice system, health services and housing associations. Individualised programmes of treatments and rehabilitation are used to help individuals with drug problems. They involve the individual in the rehabilitation and they believe that a person should be able to influence the direction of the rehabilitation. Inward House Projects have a holistic approach towards rehabilitation. Through the work with Inward House Projects I have come into contact with Floating Housing Support which provides help with practical problems such as tenancy. The service user experiences housing issues such as homelessness, threat of eviction, rent arrears, substandard housing or any issue that may impact on tenancy. This organisation works with many other agencies such as housing providers, probation services, social service, and doctors. Young People’s Services offer programmes that are suitable for young people whose needs are not met by academic curriculum and who might benefit from work placement and employment. They provide one to one support of youth aged 14-25 who are in danger of exclusion or already excluded from mainstream educational provision. The organisation helps youths with practical work preparation and experience to support future job applications. They provide training and skills around the individual’s chosen occupation and they help to provide an understanding of the working environment. Furthermore, several of the individuals I come into contract with as a project worker have mental health problems. Treatment for diagnosable mental health problems have improved but problems remain for young people with low-level mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. The Mental Health Services is a huge organisation and they are useful for establishing contacts with GPs and counsellors. A range of different teams and practitioners might get involved in helping the individual in question: the services might be under one organisation but in many cases they work independently. Young homeless people usually have a complex set of problems such as family instability, disruptive childhoods and poor relationship with their parents. Alcohol dependency is high among young homeless people and in many cases they are reluctant to face up to their drinking problems. Furthermore, many young people choose to experiment with drugs, and the number of young people using drugs has increased and the users are also getting younger. The focus of the project with Lifeline was on heavy binge drinking. The aim was to make the individuals aware of the risks of alcohol abuse, to increase their knowledge about how to minimise the risks, and to help them stop using or use in way that made it possible to live a more stable life. Lifeline has a flexible and holistic view on drug problems, and they constantly develop new responses and approaches towards dealing with drugs and alcohol abuse. Thus, one of the benefits with the arrangement with Lifeline was the versatility of services. They have the capacity to provide a range of support and they offer specialist provision in the local area. The trust for the agencies involved is likely to increase if the person is receiving holistic support, and it is important to provide youths with a role in making decisions about their choices. Lifeline recognises the importance to treat people as individuals and they do not believe that all drug users are the same. In some cases, they aim to help individuals live with their addiction with as much stability and safety as possible. Lifeline is a registered charity and the majority of resources come from contract and voluntary sources. As a project worker I needed to find the funding for the working arrangements with Lifeline. Funding was a major issue for the services and the project was reliant on the goodwill of staff and volunteers to maintain provision. In some cases the organisation struggled to provide the support they wanted to or felt necessary to provide in order to support an individual in the best possible way. The Floating Housing Support was involved in a project to provide suitable help for youths who experienced homelessness. The help would consist of finding an appropriate house and to assist service user to develop the necessary skills to manage their tenancy. The project would look at ways of informing youths about their housing rights and responsibilities provide advice on budgeting, debt management, assistance in maximising income, and in acquiring daily living skills. Considering that many of the youths that I come into contact with as a project worker have problem with substance abuse, the Floating Service might be able to assist the individuals move away from locations associated with their former social networks and lifestyle. In other words, the joint working arrangement could help individuals to make a fresh start in a new location. Shortages of social housing are acute in many areas, and this may lead to lengthy stays in temporary accommodation. Over the past decade escalating house prices in many parts of the country have made homes less affordable and increased the demands on social housing. People without a permanent address have far greater difficulties gaining employment, and many employers will not consider someone who provides a hostel or Bed & Breakfast lodgings as an address. In other words, homeless people are caught in a vicious circle, without a job they are unlikely to secure a decent accommodation and without a fixed address they struggle to gain permanent employment. The situation is even more complicated for youths who are using drugs/alcohol and in many cases they experience difficulties finding appropriate housing. Through a working arrangement with the Floating Service it was possible to create links with landlords and help youths to access a wider range of options. Furthermore, the arrangement helped to reassure landlords that someone will intervene to sort out any eventual problems (Communities and Local Government 36). The term floating refers to the fact that the assistance is temporary and should only be provided as long as necessary – a few weeks to a few months. A personal support plan for the service users would be agreed upon, and this would help to ensure that the service provided changes when the service user’s needs change. This joint working arrangement was a government funded project and part of a package of support to enable people to live independently. Previously, funding for housing was linked to housing benefit and linked to a particular tenancy arrangement. The Floating Housing Support is tied to the individual. There are several charities and organisations that provide housing for youths; however, most of them are temporary arrangements. Housing associations are funded by rent and they may tailor their needs to disadvantaged groups. The problem is the demand to become more commercial has lead to them being less beneficial to the poorest sectors of society. The support of young people involves arrangements with a wide variety of organisations and joint working arrangements have become an essential component of public-service delivery. Joint working arrangement has been associated with attempts to change service provision and to encourage contribution from the voluntary sector (Cameron et al. 12). The voluntary sector may be less constrained and limited by organisational priorities and agenda. In other words, they are more able to respond and meet the needs of individuals. Joint working arrangements allow organisations to develop their own profile, to maintain awareness of any developments, and to identity gaps in provision which they might address. Enhanced flexibility and responsiveness are some of the benefits of joint working arrangements with voluntary organisations. The positive experience of the arrangement with Lifeline was partly due to their flexible approach which was appreciated by the youths. The working arrangement was considered by the youths as providing them with a choice and plenty of opportunities to communicate and discuss their situation and possible ways to change it. Active involvement in planning may improve the individual’s confidence, sense of achievement and self-worth. The lack of funding lead to some disrupted services and as a consequence some of the youths lost their trust in the service. Furthermore, lack of resources to carry out the project was also a problem. Research has suggested that factors such as a single organisational framework, a devoted project leader, decentralised resources and a common budget facilitate joint working arrangements (Pfeffer 316). It is important that services are not duplicated in different agencies, and consequently all agencies need to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the individuals involved so that they can target their services accordingly. The lack of communication, and difficulties with gaining information from the social services about individuals we were both working with made it difficult to carry out some parts of the projects. Joint working needs to be based on clear arrangements, agreed by all partners, and it is important to ensure that staff understands to whom they are accountable. Considering the complex nature of the problems some of the youths were having it was in some cases difficult know how to prioritise the services and how to support the individual in the best possible way. In some cases the service provided overlapped and in some cases it was later discovered that some services had not been provided. Services need to be co-ordinated in a timely manner and based on up-to-date information. Integrated services to support people with complex needs works best when the service is determined by the characteristics of those who use the service rather than pre-existing organisational structures. A flexible approach is important, however, in a project involving another agency this may be difficult to achieve. Floating services can be particularly useful for individuals who are young and lack skills to sustain a tenancy. Finding a housing arrangement is difficult, particularly for youths with drug problems and the Floating Service was successful in many cases in helping youths with finding an appropriate housing. However, in some cases there was a problem finding a suitable housing in an area where the tenant would not be socially isolated. In the past housing advice has tended to focus on the housing options and rights of clients rather than their personal support needs. In some cases, however, the support did not last long, and the need of other forms of support became obvious. Another problem was that the service user should have agreed upon a support plan within three weeks of take up of the service and in several cases this did not occur. Furthermore, a high percentage of the service user did not complete the programme described in the support plan. The support plan had references to improvement in training, employment or education, improved family relationship, personal relationship, and changes in physical and psychological health. Another problem with the Floating project was that it was not possible to provide sufficient support for the youths to participate in society, or in the life of the local community. Some of the youths in the project felt isolated and also experienced harassment in the new accommodation. As a result these individuals needed support from other services. The project highlighted that some youths are vulnerable to living independently and that it is important to find ways of establishing a social network among young people. The project was successful in the sense that it provided service users with opportunities to make contact with different housing support schemes and housing providers. A study with heroin users’ experiences of floating services reports a similar result (Gray and Fraser 269). To sum up, many youths experience homeless and in many cases these youths have multiple needs. In order to help them in the best possible way several different agencies and organisations need to be involved. In the UK there is a shortage of housing accommodation suitable for youths, and in many cases a vicious circle begin and the individual cannot get access to a suitable accommodation due to lack of work, and they cannot get an employment due to lack of accommodation. Joint working arrangement can be a successful way of helping youths to gain access to housing. The Floating Service can help youths to access a wider range of options, i.e. access to private landlords. Furthermore, the service can help youths move away from an unsuitable environment. However, problems are not always easy to solve and youths may feel isolated and lost in a new environment. Due to the complex needs it is important to have a good communication with the service providers. Floating Service is time limited and in many cases it is difficult to solve the problems quickly. Communication between organisations is of crucial importance but it is not always easy to achieve. Social services in some cases did not provide the necessary information even though the project involved mutual service users. Lack of funding and resources, both material and staff, made it difficult to carry out some part of the projects. The service provided by Lifeline was appreciated by the youths but lack of funding made it difficult to carry out some part of the project. Some significant steps towards helping youths have been made partly due to the joint working arrangements. Challenges still exist partly due to lack of resources, funding, and lack of communication and understanding of organisational roles. Being young and homeless is an intimidating experience and though joint working arrangement might be successful the challenges of finding suitable housing is still facing many youths. Works Cited Cameron, Alison, Macdonald, Geraldine, Turner, William, and Lloyd, Liz. International Journal of Integrated Care. 2007, e39. Communities and Local Government. Research into the effectiveness of floating support services for the Support People programme. Final report. (2008). 17 July 2009 http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/floatingsupportresearch.pdf Gray, Paul and Penny Fraser. Housing and heroin use: The role of floating support. Drugs: Education, prevention and policy. 2005, 269-278. Pfeffer, Jeffrey. Size, composition and function of hospital boards of directors: a study of 283 organisation environment linkage. Studying the organisation and delivery of health services. Eds. Aileen Clarke, Pauline Allen, Stuart Anderson, and Naomi Fulop, Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2004, 283-291. Read More