Commonweal presents 2025/26
Annual Review​
Commonweal Housing has published its latest Annual Review, detailing a busy twelve months investigating and piloting housing solutions to social injustice. It summarises project and research activity across Commonweal's thematic areas:
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Criminal Justice,
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At-risk Youth
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Migration, Asylum, and Trafficking,
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Gender-based Violence.
This year's review is particularly special as it marks Commonweal’s 20th anniversary.
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The last year has continued on the trajectory established over our first two decades: preparing and delivering housing pilots, alongside our dedicated partners, that support at-risk groups across the UK.​
New Pilots
The Phoenix Project
The Phoenix Project, in partnership with Servol, launched in West Bromwich, opening its doors to support 12 male ex-offenders with serious mental illness and substance abuse issues.
You're Home project ​
In December 2025, we published the independent evaluation of You're Home, which demonstrated the positive social and economic impacts of this community-led housing pilot. Commonweal and project partners, East Belfast Mission (EBM), presented the evaluation findings to members of the Communities Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly, who expressed support for replicating the model elsewhere.
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This year also saw the planned scale-up of You're Home move forward. EBM successfully secured a £2 million Financial Transactions Capital investment from the Government to deliver 18 additional units to accommodate those recovering from homelessness.​​​​​
Retreat Housing
Also in Northern Ireland, Commonweal purchased three multi-bedroom properties for Retreat Housing, delivered by HAPANI (Horn of Africa People’s Aid Northern Ireland). This project provides stable accommodation and integration support to newly granted refugees from the Horn of Africa, many of whom have endured prolonged housing instability.
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Community Transition Service
Commonweal successfully secured social investment to acquire seven properties for Depaul Northern Ireland's 'Community Transition Service', a trauma-informed housing initiative for women leaving prison who have complex psychosocial needs. The first tenant moved into their new home this month, with the project set to be fully tenanted later this year.
Research
​Commonweal has published two important reports exploring issues impacting young people.
Commonweal-commissioned research conducted by Public First, entitled Hidden Children, investigates the rapid increase of unregistered children's homes across the UK and recommends solutions to eliminate their use while enhancing specialist provision.
Spring Housing’s research, the Commonweal-commissioned The Benefits of Youth, examines the affordability and employment challenges faced by young people in supported housing, drawing on outcomes from a Government pilot based in the West Midlands.
Call for New Ideas
Crucial to Commonweal's mission is providing frontline organisations with the resources to test new housing model ideas, supporting over 20 organisations in developing their creative concepts in recent years.
This year, Commonweal supported partners from the Call for New Ideas: Migration, Asylum and Trafficking cohort who investigated their housing models aimed at supporting vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The details of these models can also be found in the review.
If you have questions or comments on this report, please do get in touch at info@commonweal.org.uk
Commonweal’s Chair, Amarjit Bains,
summed up Commonweal’s enduring mission:
​"For two decades, Commonweal has worked alongside organisations supporting people at the sharpest end of the housing crisis. Whether it is young people leaving care, women fleeing domestic abuse, or individuals transitioning from custody, access to safe, stable housing remains too often inconsistent and difficult to secure. These challenges strengthen our resolve to work in partnership with some of the most committed providers in the country. Together, we are increasingly convinced that housing must remain central to addressing wider socio-economic inequalities."
