In It Together: Commonweal Housing reveals vital learning from a year like no other in annual review
Housing and social justice charity Commonweal Housing has launched its annual review, In It Together, which calls for urgent improvements to housing service provision for the most vulnerable in society who have been harshly affected by the pandemic.
Drawing on the last year of projects and research supported by Commonweal – from the accountability deficit in the exempt accommodation sector, to the scarcity of appropriate housing options for female victims of trafficking – the report presents a range of recommendations to providers of housing and support services.
Click through the report (scroll to zoom in) ↓
The review details learning taken from independent evaluations of several of Commonweal’s projects which are now coming to an end, and are ready to be replicated, which the charity is gearing up towards doing in the coming months.
The Move On Up project, in partnership with Quaker Social Action, was found to have effectively addressed the higher risks of homelessness and housing instability faced by young adult carers, and to have filled an overlooked gap in service provision for this group. Rentstart and Commonweal’s Freedom2Work project has saved over £2 million in costs to society over its years of operation, by supporting those caught in cycles of homelessness and unemployment back into work.
Since 2006, Commonweal Housing has been a champion for housing-based approaches to tackling social injustices. The charity’s work with local authorities and expert frontline organisations has led to the development of award-winning services for vulnerable women, migrants, criminal justice system leavers and young people.
This year, the charity’s ability to work in partnership to support those on the frontline of injustice has been more vital than ever. The incredible effort, adaptability and achievements of every one of Commonweal’s project partners in 2020-21 are celebrated in this report.
Ashley Horsey, Chief Executive, and Jack Mactaggart, Chair of Commonweal Housing, said: “As an organisation, one of our key aims is to use the learning, lessons and recommendations from the work we support to challenge the status quo, and to help deliver positive change for our project beneficiaries – and society as a whole.”
“It is through being critically self-reflective, always challenging ourselves to do more, that we can move closer to our ambition of being the ‘go to’ organisation for innovative and deliverable housing-based solutions to social injustice. Step by step, we are getting there.”