new home

Liverpool City Region is working to end repeat and chronic Homelessness.

What we do

The Liverpool City Region is one of just three areas in the country piloting Housing First specifically targeted at entrenched homelessness and those with complex needs.

The programme offers intensive one-to-one unconditional support based on seven core Housing First principles explained below. Providing a home is the starting point rather than an end goal and people are not expected to demonstrate they are ‘housing ready.’

Individual, targeted support is helping people to deal with mental and physical health issues such as addiction and the effects of trauma and abuse and move forward out of homelessness.

Funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Housing First will continue with £4.2m funding until 2024 and a further £2.6 million earmarked from the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) taking the programme through to 2025.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will also receive a further £2m from the RSI for other measures to tackle homelessness. £1.2m will help prevent homelessness through early intervention, and nearly three quarters of a million pounds will fund the assertive outreach programme delivered by homeless charity Whitechapel targeting rough sleepers in the city region.

Housing First Stories

Housing First was developed in New York by Dr Sam Tsemberis in 1992. In the Liverpool City Region we are currently supporting 207 people with nearly 80% sustaining their tenancy. Many Housing First service users have personal histories characterised by multiple, long-term and severe trauma.

Of our clients:

95% have mental health needs (196 of all individuals supported)
33% have a physical disability (69 of all individuals supported)
96% have a substance or alcohol dependency (199 of all individuals supported)
86% are ex-offenders (179 of all individuals supported)

Read our case studies

Why is Housing First different?

One of the aims of Housing First is the desire to create systemic change in the homelessness sector. The more people who are open to or adopt a new approach based on our best practice, before long the system itself is changing and consequently the way homeless people are treated. We share our best practice through many forums locally – multi agency partnerships, stakeholder meetings, working groups, communities of practice.

Meet our support workers Sean and Daniel as they describe how working within Housing First is different from other ways of working and how they offer unconditional support to their clients.

Watch the video

Landlords - We need you!

While we work in partnership with a number of housing providers across the Liverpool City Region, we are always searching for prospective properties suitable for our service users waiting for a home. If you’re a Housing Association or even a private landlord, click below to find out more about how we could work together.

Find out more...

Cost Effective

In February 2023, an independent study found that our pilot Housing First programme, one of only three in the country, is saving taxpayers an average £34,500 a year for each person it helps out of homelessness.

Independent consultants Beyond Better monitored 20 service users being supported by the ground-breaking scheme over the course of a year – comparing the cost of the programme to the likely cost to the public purse if they had not received help.

Savings ranged from £27,000 to £66,000 a year which, taking into account Housing First programme costs, the annual saving to the taxpayer stood at an average £34,500 for each service user.

Read the report

Programme Evaluation

Collaborative working has been paramount to ensure the success of our Housing First pilot in the Liverpool City Region. We have developed multi agency panels that were led by our Local Authorities.

A independent report evaluated the programme’s activity. Consultants Campbell Tickell found that engagement with other services, such as drug and alcohol support had also improved for 68% of clients. The pilot was found to be 3.5 times more effective in supporting homeless people to secure and sustain tenancies compared to traditional methods, and while Housing First cost more, it was twice as cost effective.

Read the report

Contact the Housing First Team

Housing First principles:

Housing First is built on seven principles focused on enabling the service user. How closely the programme adheres to the principles is referred to as fidelity. In the Liverpool City Region we follow a high fidelity model.

Research shows the effectiveness of the programme is linked to how closely it adheres to the principles which are:

	Principle	Description
1:	Everyone has a right to a home.	Housing First is fundamentally rights-based. Everyone has the right to a home that provides them with security.
2:	Flexible support is provided for as long as is needed	Relationships are a key tool for change. Removing vital support before the person is ready, can lead to relapse.
3:	Housing and support are separated	We all have power to make decisions about our lives that does not impact our housing. Housing First residents have the same right.
4:	Individuals have choice and control	Years of homelessness can be deeply disempowering. Housing First works to reverse the impact of trauma, putting the individual at the centre of decision-making.
5:	An assertive engagement approach is used	Trauma impacts an individual’s ability to build trusting relationships and access help. Housing First finds non-threatening ways of proactively engaging with people.
6:	The service is based on people’s strengths, goals and aspirations	Focussing on the deficits of a person reinforces low self-worth. By helping them to identify their strengths, we can build individuals’ resilience, hope and self-esteem.
7:	A harm reduction approach is used	Moving into a home will not make people change overnight. Housing First takes a holistic approach to reducing harm and improving well-being.

Contact the Mayor

By submitting this form you agree to be contacted by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and its partners. For more information see our Privacy Policy

Media enquiries