Homelessness Rights Hubs

Transcription

1 Homelessness Rights Hubs Govan Law Centre and Glasgow City Council welfare rights and financial inclusion initiative October 2016

2 Thomas These hubs have had a significant postive impact improving the lives of hundreds of people who find themselves at rock bottom McMahon Govan Law Centre - Homelessness Hubs Report Foreword by Thomas McMahon, Chair of Govan Law Centre The Rights Hubs service is a joint working initiative provided by Govan Law centre and Glasgow City Council Welfare Rights Services. It targets Glasgow s most vulnerable citizens who are either homeless, rough sleeping or at risk of homelessness and in need of urgent or crisis intervention. It is a weekly outreach service provided on alternate weeks based in Glasgow City Mission and The Marie Trust. It is an assertive outreach strategy which uses GLC s successful Rights Hub model of service delivery which greatly improves accessibility to vital services for the most vulnerable and marginalised citizens of Glasgow. Our experience evidences that by providing a holistic package; welfare rights, financial inclusion services, financial capability service, money advice and housing and homelessness advice at first point of engagement we are able to do so much more for the client; having the further benefit of improving future client engagement. These hubs have had a significant postive impact and improved the outcomes of hundreds of people who find themselves at rock bottom. We hope this short report explains the work we do and gives you a flavour of the impact it is making Key Stats 42 Rights Hubs in City Mission and Marie Trust 168 Hours of legal and welfare rights advice 263 Vulnerable people received advice services 263 People received a benefit check - thats everyone 238 Homeless people accommodated 250 People increased incomes through benefits entitlement Page 2

3 What our joint working initiative does & outcomes From 42 rights hubs outreach sessions and providing our joint services to 263 vulnerable service users our joint working initiative has; prevented evictions, prevented homelessness, supported clients to access accommodation in terms of their statutory rights, resolved private landlord conflict, negotiated outcomes, improved and stabilise tenancies, maximised income through benefit entitlement, challenged and appealed decisions resolving benefit and sanction issues, resolved debt issues, empowered clients to improve their control over financial issues and responsibilities, created relationships of trust with the service user very quickly Vulnerable service user accessibility to dedicated and professional housing & homelessness caseworker and legal services; Welfare Benefits/Rights and advice caseworker services is vital. The more you can do for the client at the first meeting will resolve more issues more effectively, and will increase future engagement the client sees the value by engaging this is what makes this joint working innovative, unique and successful: it is a vital service to the most vulnerable people in Glasgow affected by homelessness and the risk of homelessness. Stephen Mitchell, Marie Trust Welfare Rights services are delivered at the same time as clients receive legal advice and services, providing positive outcomes for the individual service user; Prevention of homelessness Eviction prevented Homeless clients provided with accommodation - emergency, temporary and permanent in terms of housing and homelessness rights Income maximisation through benefits entitlement, PIP, ESA, Housing Benefit, Job Seekers, Universal Credit, Income Support and all other welfare entitlement Challenging decisions, and Sanctions, taking forward appeals to the highest level where necessary (This list is not exhaustive and many other emerging issues are dealt with or where appropriate clients are supported to accessother relevant services) Page 3

4 The Glasgow Context Such outcomes mean that the vulnerable clients can move on from homelessness and risk of homelessness as benefit issues are addressed along with housing and homelessness rights. The services are the linchpin for vulnerable clients being empowered to move on positively and to taking more control and responsibility for their lives. Our joint work is key in terms of improving the service users quality of life; from being homeless to being accommodated and having a home, From tenancy ready to successfully sustaining a tenancy in their own home. We believe that our GLC and GCC WRO joint working initiative links well with 2 key Policies: Glasgow s Single Outcome Agreement Glasgow City Council Financial Inclusion Strategy Glasgow s Single Outcome Agreement states: Our Vision, Glasgow is a thriving, inclusive and resilient city; a city where all citizens can enjoy the best possible health and well-being, and have the best opportunities to meet their potential. We recognise that a preventative or early intervention approach to service delivery can bring the greatest benefit for the people of Glasgow We have some early examples of partnership working where we have made a concerted effort to take a total place approach to changing how services are delivered and outcomes achieved, and to shift to prevention and early intervention The SOA sets the priorities as, Alcohol, Youth Employment & Vulnerable People and recognises that these have been selected as they share common themes and linkages which we experience directly within the context of our joint working initiative. Legal advice team: Seonaid Cavanagh and Lorna Walker outside Marie Trust Page 4

5 The SOA further sets out our way of working across all of the priorities with an underlying set of principles : Early and Effective Intervention defined as actions which prevent problems and ease demand on services by intervening early, whereby delivering better outcomes and value for money for local residents Equality defined as the creation of a fairer society for all and reducing any disadvantage or discrimination experienced by local residents, and promoting equal opportunity. Our ambition for the SOA is that it should seek to tackle inequality in the city in whatever form it manifests itself, be it amongst individuals, groups or neighbourhoods. Our outcomes should include clear and co-ordinated approaches to reduce these inequalities wherever they exist. Sustainable Change defined as working with communities to achieve lasting change by developing services that are planned and resourced appropriately, and can be delivered and maintained for as long as is required This is how GLC& GCC WRO Service Joint Working initiative directly addresses all of overarching themes GLC& GCC WRO Joint working initiative successfully meets these ways of working. Our project provides early intervention in terms of homelessness, risk of homelessness and continuation of homelessness which further and directly addresses inequality in the city for vulnerable service users and through our welfare rights service provision provides a financial inclusion strategy which delivers sustainable change WRO and Solicitor working closely together increases accessibility to vital services for vulnerable and hard to reach clients, removes obstacles for clients who need crisis and urgent access to casework, legal advice & representation and welfare rights advice Making Financial Inclusion more inclusive makes involvement in Financial Inclusion and involvement in solutions more accessible and provides more opportunities for the client to engage Making Prevention of Homelessness more effective - A targeted and assertive initiative to prevent homelessness, promotes close partnership working amongst organisations and improving communication and early intervention - a unique Glasgow Initiative; a model that can be replicated Health and Well-being Outcomes; GLC and other independent evaluation(s) show increased positive health outcomes when people engage with the service, lower stress and poor mental health episodes, raised confidence and positivity, less visits to GP and Stays in hospital Cost Savings cost savings in terms of preventing homeless applications (between 3,000 to 85,000 depending on household support needs) cost savings to client, also cost saving in terms of missed appointment time Page 5

6 Glasgow City Council Financial Inclusion Strategy Glasgow City Council Financial Inclusion Strategy states: The vision for the Financial Inclusion Strategy is to give our citizens access to quality advice, information and assistance that aims to help them to be financially included, putting them back in control of their life and enabling them to fully contribute to, and participate in, the social and economic life of the city. The focus of the Strategy is to improve financial inclusion for vulnerable groups of people and communities, establish early intervention mechanisms and provide support at key transition points in people s lives. 1.4 The overarching themes of the current strategy are: Early Intervention and Education Targeted Support for Vulnerable Groups Improving Accessibility Partnerships and Collaboration Evaluation and Social Return on Investment This is how GLC& GCC WRO Service Joint Working initiative directly addresses all of overarching themes: In terms of Social Return on Investment (SROI), figures for Glasgow s Financial Inclusion Partnership in 2015/16 confirm that Partnership advice agencies managed almost 10m of housing debt for clients across the City. Of that total, Govan Law Centre (GLC) managed 57% of all housing debt in the City (homeowners and tenants) for its clients - 5,478,711 of an overall City-wide figure of 9,674,675 in 2015/16. GLC Prevention of Homelessness Project Rights Hubs (funded by the Oak Foundation and working within various NHS locations across the City) prevented almost 1,000 clients from being made homeless. In 2015/16, we opened 798 new Type 3 defended court cases with several thousand court appearances in Glasgow, and 1,166 Type 2 cases (requiring a file to be opened with assistance via correspondence, telephone and ). Our joint working initiative based in the Homelessness day centres, Glasgow City Mission and The Marie Trust contributed significantly to the Social Return on investment with vulnerable clients being provided with accommodation in terms of their statutory rights, rough sleepers being accommodated, tenants tenancies secured and sustained, clients being provided with their benefits entitlement and sanctions being overturned, income maximisation and service users belonging to a community. Social Return of Investment includes income maximisation where vulnerable service users through accessing their Welfare Rights entitlement. With increased social and financial inclusion people feel more part of society and community. The extent of the total income gained for the vulnerable service users in the rights hubs outreaches data is not reported in this report; such data would be noted by GCC WRO services Page 6

7 Recommendations That the service continues to provide the service utilising the Assertive Outreach Strategy utilising the Rights Hub model of service provision That GLC & GGC welfare rights service to discuss how to improve and expand the service Discuss with relevant stake holders within Glasgow City Council on how to resource improvement and expansion of the service Page 7

8 What our clients said: Govan Law Centre - Homelessness Hubs Report When I met them [Rights Hub team] I was in a bad place...i was sofa surfing...pregnant...all sorts was happening...and I d left the accommodation I was in because it was so awful...drugs n that...so I didn t think anyone would give me anywhere to stay again...i hadn t even bothered trying...but GLC got me into supported accommodation...and have helped me on and off since then... Service User (Female 27yrs) Glasgow City Mission I was sanctioned cos I couldn t do the work programme I had tons of meetings about my daughter at that time [she was in foster care] and I couldn t miss them. I thought that was that with DWP but GLC were great got all my money backdated and everything... Service User (Male, 24yrs) Marie Trust They [ATOS] told me I was fit for work when I could hardly get out the door...even the guy where I signed on was concerned... I didn t know how to appeal it...to be honest I didn t want to go through that again anyway...i wasn t sleeping...but the guys at the Rights Hub appealed for me and got me on PIP... Service User (Female, 58yrs) Page 8

9 Case Studies Case Study 1 Glasgow City Mission Deidre is 38 and lived with her partner and child in private sector rented accommodation and worked in a local shop part-time. Her problems began when her relationship broke down, she could no longer afford the rent on her flat and she and her child were evicted. She began to suffer from depression and panic attacks and she battled to keep her asthma condition under control. She subsequently lost her job. They stayed with a variety of friends and relatives and she applied for housing association accommodation. Unfortunately due to previous rent arrears the low priority she was given as she was living with her sister she was not immediately housed. Her mental health deteriorated to such an extent that it resulted in a spell in hospital and her child was put into care. On being discharged from hospital a room in a hostel was arranged but she found it unsuitable and struggled to thrive in the environment and her health both physical and mental - worsened again. She found it difficult to maintain her drug regime and began to use alcohol to self-medicate which led to more problems and she was asked to leave the hostel. Deidre was sleeping rough when she found her way to a day centre where they referred her to the Rights Hub Team who luckily were in attendance that morning. The Team arranged for her to be housed in a hostel that day. They subsequently met with her again and made a successful claim for ESA. Deidre now lives in supported accommodation, is in regular contact with her child and has regular help from SAMH for her mental health condition. She is hoping to be able to look for a new job in the near future. She feels that the Rights Hub team turned her life around as having a roof over her head enabled her to move forward: It s weird talking about this...seems like I m talking about another person...if it hadn t Names, ages and photos of case studies have been changed Page 9

10 Case Study 2 been for them I would still be on the streets... Keiran is 62 years old and was recently rehoused after period of homelessness and hospitalisation. He had worked until quite recently but had to give up due to health problems. Following his discharge from hospital he had been awarded ESA and standard rate mobility component of PIP. He came to Hub to inquire why he wasn t receiving the more generous credit pension instead of ESA. He also expressed anxiety at having to attend work related interviews as condition of receiving ESA. Explained to him that although effectively retired from work he was not old enough to qualify for pension credit which can now only be paid once a person reaches the relevant pension age for a woman (67 in his case). However assisted him to request mandatory reconsiderations of both ESA and PIP awards on ground that he should have been placed in the support group of ESA and that he should have been awarded a higher rate of PIP. Both these requests refused so appeals lodged. These represented by our Appeals Team and both successful. For ESA he was placed in the support group meaning he no longer had to take part in work related interviews. This also entitled him to additional per week. His PIP award was increased from standard mobility only to standard care and enhanced mobility, an increase of pw. This in turn entitled him to have the severe disability premium of pw included in his ESA award. All these awards were backdated 8 months. Total weekly gain = with approx. 5.5k arrears payment. Case Study 3 Sergio Ciancau at Glasgow City Mission Kevin s relationship broke down in 2013 and he had been homeless and sofa surfing intermittently since, but recently has managed to obtain supported accommodation. At the same time he was trying to organise a regular access arrangement to see his daughter. This meant a number of meetings with a solicitor, social worker and arrangements with family. He consequently was unable to attend the work programme arranged by Jobcentre Plus and he was sanctioned. As his benefits diminished Kevin struggled and visited a city centre homelessness centre for food where one of the support workers told him about the Rights Hub Service. The team looked into his case, successfully appealed and Kevin received a large sum in backdated money. This enabled him to buy necessities for his daughter. In addition he began work volunteering in the homelessness centre. I would ve struggled that whole year if it hadn t been Page 10

11 Case Study 4 for them...and my daughter would ve suffered... Nancy is 44 years old and presented in a highly agitated state and could give only minimal details of her situation. Later emerged she suffered severe personality disorder. She was living in temporary emergency homeless accommodation having returned to Scotland having fled violence in London where she had lived for over 20 years. She was particularly concerned that she might not be accepted as having local connection with Glasgow. She also said that since arriving in Glasgow she had claimed ESA but been told that she could not be paid this for some time as she had failed to attend a medical when living in London. She was apparently surviving by prostitution. An out of time mandatory reconsideration request was made on the ground that she had good cause for failing to attend medical due to the nature of her health problems. This was accepted by DWP who reinstated ESA, with arrears, pending a further medical assessment. Arranged for her housing support to ensure she was assisted to attend any further medical (and also to claim PIP). On reinstatement of ESA, homelessness were happy to accept (or at least to dispense with requirement for) local connection and client was moved to more suitable temporary furnished flat. Seonaid and Lorna, with Joe and Charlie who work at Glasgow City Mission Alistair Sharp Prevention of Homelessness asharp@govanlc.com