A project exploring the complex reasons people in supported housing become trapped in cycles of worklessness is beginning to bear fruit, with early findings released.
North East housing association Tyne Housing – which specialises in supporting some of the region’s most vulnerable people – has been leading a trailblazing project called Opening Doors. The initiative aims to identify and overcome systemic barriers to employment faced by people in supported accommodation.
Commissioned by the North East Combined Authority (NECA), Opening Doors has brought together academics from the University of Sunderland and Newcastle University, alongside specialist housing providers coordinated by Tyne Housing, to examine the challenges vulnerable adults face when moving towards employment.
Steve McKinlay, chief executive of Tyne Housing, said: “We, like other specialist housing associations, do everything we can to support people whose challenges have kept them out of work to rebuild their lives. Our goal is ultimately to help them contribute positively to society and secure employment and independence that gives them a good quality of life.
“But we know that the barriers they face are often systemic. Our purpose is to fully understand, and then remove these barriers, ensuring that people who are already trying to overcome personal challenges are properly empowered to get to a better place.
“Early results from the research have confirmed many things we already knew as providers, but it has also highlighted additional barriers that we must do our very best to remove for people who often already feel isolated, forgotten and under-represented.”
At an event for key project stakeholders in Durham, researchers shared an early glimpse into the challenges they have identified.
Early findings suggest that people in supported accommodation face a series of unique and systemic barriers meaning employment is something they often don’t feel like they can even consider as an option. Challenges for people include being able to afford their accommodation on entry-level wages, and the need to retain transitional support which will help them bridge the gap between supported and mainstream housing.
It also suggested that individuals’ personal challenges and circumstances compounded systemic barriers to make them feel work isn’t an option, but found some examples of how support across a person’s entire journey to employment can lead to successful outcomes.
The project has gathered first-hand insight from people with lived experience, working with partners including Home Group, Bernicia, Oasis Community Housing, Action Foundation, Newcastle City Council, Thirteen, and the Housing Employment Network North East (HENNE). The project is also being championed by the North East Housing Partnership.
The University of Sunderland’s Institute for Economic and Social Inclusion, alongside researchers from Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health at Newcastle University, have collaborated to undertake this regional project, providing much-needed evidence for policy and practice in the North East and beyond. The project identifies the disadvantages faced by people living in supported housing and explores what can be done to address them.
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