What is Housing Support?
The fundamental aim of housing support is to enable people to live at home as independently as possible by maintaining and developing their life skills and social networks.
Why do people use housing support services?
People may use housing support in different settings to help with a variety of issues, including help to access health services, social care services, and specialist services such as mental health services. Housing support is used by people to achieve their own goals and become involved in activities that lead to positive outcomes including reduced social isolation, better mental health, and improved self-esteem. While housing support can help in a crisis situation, in some cases, it will be supporting a person after a crisis or through a period of transition, including coming out of hospital to avoid delayed discharge.
There is not a single model of housing support. Housing support can assist:
- people who are facing homelessness;
- people experiencing addictions;
- older people;
- people with mental health problems;
- disabled people;
- women facing domestic abuse;
- people with a learning disability.
While housing support is often delivered through the socially rented sector, it is available to people living across all tenures (social renting; private renting; owner occupied). Regardless of the provider or tenure type of those being supported, housing support services are regulated by the Care Inspectorate using the Health and Social Care Standards. Read more about the scope of housing support in our What is Housing Support? discussion paper.
‘The core purpose of Housing Support … is the focus on supporting people to manage their homes and enabling them to remain or become independent at home and in their communities.’ -CaCHE Report on the Economic Benefits of Housing Support
Housing support as a preventative tool
A common goal of housing support is to identify solutions for people that support independence. People can use housing support to retain a sense of choice and control. Another common defining characteristic of housing support is its preventative aims. By providing support that is responsive to people’s individual needs, housing support can help avoid escalation and reduce demands on statutory services.
More Resources:
What is Housing Support? Discussion Paper
Housing Support and Advice in Hospitals
SFHA: Models of Housing with Care and Support