After a first year focused on building foundations, Homewards is now firmly in delivery mode in each of the six flagship locations – Aberdeen; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; Lambeth; Newport; Northern Ireland; and Sheffield.
Working with partners and leading voices from across the private, public and third sectors, Homewards has been progressing impactful, scalable solutions locally to prevent homelessness across each location.
Looking to milestones where we’ve seen the true power of collaboration come to life locally, each Homewards location has already seen positive impact on the ground, laying the foundations for wider impact as the programme continues:
Aberdeen: Supporting single people and young people (under the age of 25).
- The first residents moved into new homes delivered by the Homewards Aberdeen Innovative Housing Project (IHP). Alongside local Coalition member, Langstane Housing Association, Homewards convened local and national businesses to provide the furniture and fittings needed to transform vacant properties into homes.
- Supported by a grant from the Homewards Fund, social enterprise Invisible Cities launched in Aberdeen – offering walking tours of cities across the UK guided by people who have experienced homelessness. Invisible Cities will roll out across all six Homewards locations.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: Supporting single people, families and young people (under the age of 25).
- Supported by a grant from the Homewards Fund, a new project in BCP led by Shelter Dorset, and in partnership with The Bourne Academy, launched at a secondary school and sixth form to identify families who may be at risk of homelessness and provide the necessary support. Bournemouth University also joined the partnership to evaluate the impact of the project.
- Supported also by the Homewards Fund and working alongside EveryYouth and BCP Council, progress has been made to re-establish a Youth Homelessness Board for joint-working and shared-oversight to support the prevention of homelessness for young people aged 16-25 in BCP.
Lambeth: Supporting lone parents in temporary accommodation.
- Supported by the Homewards Fund, local Coalition member Kineara launched a new Housing Advice Line for those in Lambeth facing housing challenges and in need of expert guidance.
- Also supported by a grant from the Homewards Fund, social enterprise Housing Perks will support 45,000 low-income households in Lambeth from August 2025 using data to reduce debt through a cashback app. This pilot will be the first time Housing Perks has partnered with a local authority and has the potential to be scaled across other Homewards locations and beyond.
- Lambeth Coalition members Pret a Manger, the Department for Education and Lambeth College, developed a training pathway to support local young people into the Pret Rising Stars scheme – with 12 people supported into the scheme so far.
Newport: Supporting families and women facing multiple disadvantage.
- Local Coalition members Housing Justice, Barnardo’s and Pobl Group partnered to launch the HomeLife partnership – providing support services for people at risk of homelessness at a local hub – as funded by the Homewards Fund.
- In collaboration with Homewards , the “Women of Newport” photography exhibition, attended by Prince William, showcased images of local women with lived experience to reframe perceptions of homelessness.
- Supported by the Homewards Fund, Maindee Primary School launched the Maindee CommUNITY Primary Trust and implemented a Family Support Checklist to identify families in unstable or unsuitable accommodation – aiming to put support in place to prevent homelessness
- Homewards Newport launched a milestone report addressing women’s homelessness in the city called the Newport Women’s Homelessness Joint Strategic Needs Assessment [JSNA]. This work saw introduction of an early intervention worker, which so far has supported 39 women locally.
Northern Ireland: Women experiencing chronic homelessness and young people leaving care.
- Homewards Northern Ireland made progress on the Innovative Housing Project. which will focus on providing care experienced young people with a new housing pathway that prevents them from becoming homeless. This will include provided support to manage their home, mental health and wellbeing, and with pathways into education, training and employment.
- A strong focus on reframing the narrative has seen progress to create a local media partnership, local image bank and guide to speaking about homelessness.
Sheffield: Supporting families and young people.
- The first homes were delivered as part of Homewards Sheffield’s Innovative Housing Project – homes unlocked by the private rented sector to support local families. Additionally, made possible through The Royal Foundation, a Service Navigator is being recruited, by local partner SOAR, to help provide access to support services and pathways.
- Homewards Sheffield has launched high-impact intervention, Upstream – a schools-based survey that identifies young people who are at greater risk of homelessness and provides them with the support they and their families need. Homewards Sheffield Coalition member, Roundabout will deliver the work as lead partner, with the support of Centrepoint. Homewards will deliver Upstream in three local schools.
- Supported by the Homewards Fund, Coalition member, Firvale Community Hub have recruited two Tenancy Advice and Advocacy Officers to support families, young people, and other individuals who are at risk of homelessness locally.
