Homelessness prevention 2007

The first section describes the policy background which has given homelessness prevention a much more prominent role in Scotland in recent years. This marks a move from the traditional model of councils intervening to tackle homelessness when it occurs, to taking on a more responsive culture that seeks to identify lasting solutions to people in a range of housing circumstances and difficulties. Prevention of homelessness work has also been accelerated by a Scottish Executive focus on this area with specific guidance on prevention planned, for the first time, in 2007.

This section also examines some of the issues in relation to developing a practical, working definition of homelessness prevention. This can assist in focussing the work that is undertaken by housing providers and homelessness services and while being comprehensive must also take into account the fact that resources should be targeted at those interventions that work best.

This is further discussed in the second section, which looks at the monitoring and evaluation of homelessness prevention. While local authorities become more involved in homelessness prevention it is becoming clear that there is little in the way of a framework to monitor work in this area. This makes it harder for organisations to assess the impact of their services, a crucial source of information in determining the future direction of prevention work. Furthermore, robust and transparent monitoring of prevention services can ensure that councils protect themselves from accusations of ‘gatekeeping’. This is where people are diverted from making a homelessness application rather than actually being genuinely helped to resolve their housing difficulties and is a path that must continue to be avoided in Scotland.

Some of the services that are becoming more commonly developed to prevent homelessness by local authorities and partner organisations are discussed in the third section of this paper. These cover the adoption of housing options approaches to dealing with housing issues, as well as, the use of mediation services and the private sector to prevent homelessness. While this covers the positive implications of adopting a new approach to homelessness some concerns are raised in their operation to be taken into consideration regarding these developing areas of practice