Housing First and the Dogs Trust
Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership’s (HSCP) Housing First team have been working with the Dogs Trust in a mutually beneficial volunteer programme.
Homelessness affects a wide variety of people and can be caused by many reasons. This can include health issues, relationship problems or losing your job.
The HSCP has a legal duty to help people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. For some people their experiences with trauma, mental health issues, addictions, rough sleeping and involvement in the criminal justice system mean that they can get ‘stuck’ in the cycle of being homeless. A solution to this problem is the Housing First approach.
Housing First is a simple but radically different approach to tackling homelessness and it significantly challenges established practice. It allows people to be rapidly rehoused in independent tenancies in the community, with no requirement to go through the traditional housing programme. To help them sustain their tenancy, a bespoke, outreach support package is available for each individual and can include:
- helping the person adjust and settle into their home and their community
- assisting and enabling day to day tasks
- help with money management
- help with appointments and linking with the recovery network and other community activities
- help to access community support, health care and social benefits.
While the HSCP can provide support, an issue that remains for our Housing First service users is isolation as they can feel lonely in their new home. A few of our service users have a keen interest in dogs however don’t feel that they are ready for the responsibility of caring for an animal.
Eleanor Lee, Principal Officer Housing First said: “Last year, we were contacted by the Dogs Trust who were looking to work with Local Authorities to increase the options available to dog owners who are homeless or in housing crisis. Our HSCP already has procedures in place to ensure that, where possible, we do everything we can to match people to tenancies that can include their dog. The Housing First team are always on the look-out for opportunities to raise the service users’ aspirations and find things that motivate them and aid their recovery. While they may not feel ready to own their own animal, we wondered if the Dogs Trust would be interested in offering volunteer placements for our Housing First service users.”
Following a number of meetings with the Dogs Trust to discuss the volunteer roles available and the support our HSCP staff could provide for individual volunteers, a pilot volunteer programme with the Dogs Trust is now available for Housing First tenants.
Neil is a Housing First service user who is benefitting from the pilot volunteer programme. At first, Neil was hesitant but, with the support provided by the Housing First team, he has blossomed in his volunteering role and now finds he is a valued member of the Dogs Trust volunteer group. Sporting his Dogs Trust volunteer t-shirt, he attends every week and is now responsible for ensuring that the dogs have a regular supply of clean blankets and soft bedding. His confidence is growing every day.
Megan Reilly, the Volunteer Co-ordinator from the Dogs Trust, said: "Neil is doing a fantastic job and the place is spotless!”
Eleanor continued: “We are delighted that a few of our Housing First service users have taken the opportunity to be involved in the pilot with Dogs Trust Glasgow. It has been amazing working with the Dogs Trust and it is great to see Neil thriving. We look forward to continued working with the Dogs Trust. We are always on the lookout for good volunteering opportunities and this one totally fits the bill.”
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