ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT WHAT WE DO

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1 Our Strategic Plan

2 WHAT WE DO Homeless Link is the national membership charity for organisations working directly with homeless people in England. With over 500 members, we work to make services for homeless people better and campaign for policy change that will help end homelessness. IF TOMORROW YOU LOSE EVERYTHING WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO REBUILD YOUR LIFE? ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT In February 2013, we published A Place to Call Your Home a refreshed vision outlining the steps that Government and charities need to take together to end homelessness in England. To support this document, we have refreshed our Strategic Plan to ensure it focuses on how we will achieve our vision in the current environment. We need to tackle both the causes and symptoms of homelessness. This means adopting an approach to our work that goes beyond, but incorporates, single homelessness and rough sleeping. We want to help prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place as well as ensuring a comprehensive range of support services are in place to minimise the impact of temporary homelessness. And we want to live in a country where living on the streets is unacceptable. Published by Homeless Link Homeless Link All rights reserved. Homeless Link is a charity no and a company no

3 HOMELESS LINK STRATEGIC PLAN OUR VISION OUR ROLE We and our members have a shared vision: WE WANT A COUNTRY WHERE YOU HAVE A PLACE TO CALL HOME AND CAN GET THE SUPPORT YOU NEED TO KEEP IT. To achieve this ambition, we believe that, as a society, we need to: Homeless Link has a vital role to play in winning support for an end to homelessness by finding and championing new solutions, as well as supporting their implementation. Delivering this vision on the ground will take the combined efforts of many individuals and organisations. So Homeless Link will forge constructive partnerships across a range of organisations, sectors and communities. We believe that homelessness is everybody s problem ; this means that a large part of our work is clarifying the expectations and responsibilities of a wide range of stakeholders, and holding each other to account for the decisions we make. ACT FASTER TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM LOSING THEIR HOME ENSURE IF YOU BECOME HOMELESS, IT S FOR THE SHORTEST TIME POSSIBLE We believe we have an obligation to model the behaviour we want to see from others. This means: Having a high public profile Presenting a reasoned, coherent case for change Clarifying our desired outcomes Stating and delivering on our offer to others Developing our in-house talent to make sure we have the correct skills and experience to fulfil our aims. PROVIDE THOSE WITH COMPLEX PROBLEMS WITH THE LONG-TERM ACCOMMODATION AND HELP THEY NEED SUPPORT PEOPLE TO REALISE THEIR POTENTIAL AND AVOID HOMELESSNESS IN THE FUTURE 3

4 STRATEGIC PLAN HOMELESS LINK OUR AIMS We have identified four compass points to help guide our refreshed strategy: ONE WINNING COMMITMENT TO END HOMELESSNESS THREE BUILDING A STRONG, SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE ORGANISATION TWO CREATING, FINDING AND ADVOCATING SOLUTIONS THAT END HOMELESSNESS FOUR BEING A BEACON FOR OTHERS TO INSPIRE CHANGE AND INNOVATION 4

5 HOMELESS LINK STRATEGIC PLAN POINT ONE WINNING COMMITMENT TO END HOMELESSNESS We will: Work across the political spectrum at international, national and local levels to raise awareness of the personal, social and economic costs of homelessness in England and ways of mitigating them. Highlight the impact of policy and legislative changes, funding cuts and welfare reform on both individuals affected by homelessness, and on our member organisations that are charged with supporting those individuals. Using our evidence of the impact to seek positive change. Support and encourage joined up thinking across Government departments in order to foster a strategic approach to ending homelessness. This will include clarifying our expectations of all Government departments and agencies in ending homelessness, and monitoring progress against these. POINT TWO CREATING, FINDING AND ADVOCATING SOLUTIONS We will: Develop and deliver our new vision A Place to Call Your Home that offers a blueprint for policymakers, commissioners, providers and communities to work in partnership to end homelessness in England. Promote local, national and international cross sector collaboration to ensure a comprehensive portfolio of support and services are available to support people affected by homelessness. This will include supporting our members to develop innovative ways of making use of available resources; exploring the role of alternative funding methods (e.g. payment by results, social impact bonds); as well as lobbying for continued funding. Identify and promote the positive opportunities created by the localism agenda on homelessness commissioners and providers. Support local and national initiatives that promote the resilience, skills and capacity of people affected by homelessness including supporting people into work and out of homelessness. Engage with accommodation providers of all types and sizes to review existing and propose new models of housing people at risk of homelessness that are sustainable, cost effective and fit for purpose. Learn from innovation and success elsewhere in the world to inform our approach to ending homelessness in England. 5

6 STRATEGIC PLAN HOMELESS LINK POINT THREE BUILDING A STRONG, SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE ORGANISATION We will: Retain a diverse funding base from grants, fundraising, social enterprise and membership income. This will include developing our social enterprise activity to generate a substantial surplus to support our campaigning aims. Create a culture within Homeless Link that identifies, nurtures and rewards the skills, talents and unique contributions of all our staff, volunteers and trustees. Develop our internal and external communications to lead the public debate on solutions to homelessness and ensure we reach the widest possible audience. Continuously review the efficiency of our processes and strive towards excellence in delivering services and products. Introduce a partnerships by default approach to project management that actively seeks out opportunities for collaboration with both members and other stakeholders. POINT FOUR BEING A BEACON TO INSPIRE CHANGE AND INNOVATION We will: Create a vibrant community of interest that supports our vision, including taking steps to ensure we have a wide membership across the sector, including providers, local authorities and other stakeholders. Ensure our work is informed by the best intelligence available from the widest possible range of sources, and in turn make available to others our analysis, expertise and networks. Create a vehicle for inspiring thought leadership in the homelessness sector and beyond, which generates innovative ways of addressing the challenges of ending homelessness. Seek out opportunities to learn from and contribute to a global understanding of homelessness, its causes and solutions. We will foster links with equivalent agencies internationally so we can learn and generate new and creative ways of working. Exemplify a model of collaborative consultation with stakeholders that can be used by others. 6

7 HOMELESS LINK STRATEGIC PLAN THE WAY FORWARD This plan will inform our business plan that specifies the outcomes we want to achieve in each financial year, as well as the targets we agree with our funders. Our Board of Trustees will use these plans to maintain a strategic overview of the work of the organisation and will receive regular reports on progress from senior managers. Our annual report will chart progress against the achievement of the aims outlined in this document. This report will be freely available to our members, stakeholders and the public. 7

8 LET S END HOMELESSNESS TOGETHER