Established in 1965, Housing Matters (HM) Bristol provides housing advice, support, and advocacy to vulnerable people across Bristol and beyond, helping them to avoid or escape homelessness and navigate the path to a safe and secure home.
Last June, CPT awarded a large grant of £30,000 towards a three-year project called "Working Upstream". Through targeted early intervention, HM housing advisers aim to ‘catch’ marginalised people’s problems ‘upstream’ before they reach crisis point. In the first six months, HM have exceeded target goals in supporting clients by opening five drop in hubs spanning the city from north to south, east to west. Many who visit the drop in hubs frequently present distressing situations, which involve not just housing matters but finance and employment also.
Director, Daisy Pitcher, said: “We have learned about the importance and benefit of situating drop ins at trusted community centres, alongside likeminded agencies who can contribute to the help and support provided to attendees.”
Such drop in hubs have evidently become pockets of hope providing essential support to those who are desperate, frustrated and in need.
“We have empowered many people to improve their own housing situations: 93% of clients said they had a better understanding of their options, duties and rights following our advice and 79% said they felt better able to plan/manage their own affairs. We have empowered people by giving them the knowledge and advice they need. This has given people the ability to weigh up their options and take effective steps to improve their situation. This is a key part of the Working Upstream model. If you identify a housing issue early, it is possible to resolve the situation before a crisis occurs. People who we reach early are often empowered to act on our “brief advice” to resolve their own situation. For people who are already in the midst of a housing crisis, it is more likely that they will require intense and ongoing casework support. Not all cases can be resolved without more intensive support. Our presence at drop ins has allowed us to identify those cases and offer timely support when it is most needed.”
This is evident in Huda’s housing crisis story:
“We met Huda at one of our in-person drop-in sessions. She and her six children had been living at a relative’s home. With eight people in two bedrooms, it was very overcrowded. The children slept on the floor [and] became very sleep deprived which was affecting their concentration at school. Ahead of the meeting [with the council], we educated Huda on the homelessness legal process and what the council should provide for her. We also prepared her for what they might say to deter her from pursuing it any further, given how stretched they are in terms of resources. Unfortunately, the council refused to even assess Huda’s case. It had taken so much for her to attend the meeting, and she was starting to despair. We reassured her that we hadn’t given up, and encouraged her to return, reminding her of her rights and equipping her with knowledge and courage. The next day, to her absolute relief, she was successful. That afternoon, she and her family were offered Emergency Accommodation.”
The HM project model of "working upstream" through drop in hubs, not only shows the need for targeted early intervention to prevent people's problems from reaching a crisis point but also the need to provide intensive and timely support to those already facing a housing crisis.
