Commonweal presents 2024/25 Annual Review

Commonweal Housing has published its latest annual review, entitled Building Together, reflecting on the past twelve months of  investigating housing solutions to social issues.

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This year’s activities focused on learning, listening, and laying the groundwork for the future. We engaged in preparatory work for upcoming housing pilots and formed new partnerships - all seeking to explore how housing can address injustices across Commonweal’s Strategic Themes:

• Criminal Justice

• At-Risk Youth

• Migration, Asylum, and Trafficking.

The year also saw new Board leadership, with the appointment of Amarjit Bains as Chair and Russ Edwards as Vice-Chair.

Commonweal’s primary focus has been on preparing to deliver three new property pilots later this year. The Phoenix Project, in partnership with Servol Community Services, will provide specialist supported accommodation for male prison leavers with complex mental health needs. HAPANI’s Retreat Housing model is set to support refugees and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa who reside in Belfast.

Additionally, Depaul Northern Ireland will pilot a trauma-informed Housing First service for women leaving prison in Belfast. This review features insights from these partners, highlighting how their models will operate, the necessity of these initiatives, and, importantly, the lessons they hope to learn.

This year also marked the second anniversary of the You’re Home project, which provides five affordable homes for individuals transitioning out of homelessness, in partnership with East Belfast Mission (EBM). Project lead, Tom Dinnen, shares the positive outcomes for tenants and EBM’s plans to replicate the model ahead of its forthcoming evaluation.

Commonweal has published research examining how housing and homelessness intersect with criminal justice and the migration, asylum, and trafficking systems. These reports concluded our horizon-scanning process, which involved commissioning studies to better understand the provision gaps across our three themes, and inform our project focuses thereafter.

The insights from these reports identified specific cohorts and key areas of housing need. Through two rounds of Call for New Ideas, Commonweal subsequently funded eight feasibility studies to develop housing model ideas.

From housing schemes designed for neurodivergent young people or LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, these studies offer new opportunities to explore how housing can support marginalised groups. The details of these models can be found in the review.

Commonweal has also commissioned several research pieces investigating solutions to important housing issues, including the rural homelessness crisis and the barriers facing young people in supported housing.

Notably, we published No Access, No Way Out, which revealed the difficulties single homeless people encounter transitioning into the private rented sector (PRS). Commonweal continues to engage with relevant stakeholders on the recommendations arising from this report, particularly around reforming the Shared Accommodation Rate to enable PRS move-on for this group. The findings from these reports are included in the review.

Outside of research and project updates, Commonweal was recently appointed as the Secretariat of the London Housing Panel. This forum consists of community groups and providers, including several former Commonweal project partners, that advise the Mayor’s housing strategy. In a year defined by collaborative working, this opportunity will enable us to amplify sector voices and enhance the quality and availability of housing.

Jack Mactaggart, Chair (2020-24), Amarjit Bains, Chair, and Ashley Horsey, CEO, said: “The collaborative emphasis displayed by the whole staff team and all our partners inspires the theme of this report – Building Together – as we confront numerous housing injustices in the knowledge that there is much work to do, and that we cannot do it alone. On that basis, Commonweal would like to express sincere thanks to all our partners, supporters, and friends, with whom we work to learn and serve those in need.”

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We hope you enjoy reading about our recent achievements and encourage you to get in touch if you have questions or comments about our work at: info@commonweal.org.uk.