PHASE SEVEN: ATTACK

(Project to run concurrently with phase 1-6)

Creating a lifeline for the ignored, displaced and chronically homeless residents of Greater Manchester - fast becoming known as the ‘homeless capital’ of the UK - new concepts and ideas should be continually dissected and developed via a revolutionary emergency housing and rehabilitation unit, loosely based on the pioneering ‘Breaking Ground’ Times Square Hotel model.

In an all-out-attack on poor-quality and expensive temporary accommodation, this model can lead a radical - yet compassionate and economical - response to chronic and street homelessness in city locations. From a central hub, we will tap into practical resources from the public, private and third sectors to engage residents in activities and aftercare programs which will help to break bad habits, form productive communities and encourage a positive progression in life. We will encourage programs of trauma-based therapy, holistic care, health, fitness and well-being, pet therapy and financial education. Social enterprise groups will be encouraged to form and evolve within the centre to engage residents in projects and activities they enjoy and feel passionate about.

Professional respondents will be encouraged to utilise contemporary methods of engagement and work collaboratively to provide a whole and rounded level of care. Permanent accommodation in the form of move-on options, as well as training, voluntary work and paid employment opportunities will be by our growing network of Social Property Investors. Nonetheless, this building and its services will be there for people experiencing homelessness whenever they need it – before, during and after their housing instability crisis.

We will encourage service users to become part of the solution they help to create, whilst simultaneously pushing them towards rehabilitation, recovery and personal growth and success. We will work flexibly, with each and every person we engage; assisting with crisis needs, whilst also encouraging long-term stability, personal responsibility and aspirational hope for the future.

An executive board of directors and specialist advisory team is an essential and powerful driver in the success of any mission-led enterprise. We seek to align with creative and forward-thinking organisations and spark dynamic strategic partnerships which will support the futuristic vision and evolution of this project:

• Visionary - This project should be overseen and led by the visionary and network associates;
• UK Government – Alignment with central government will ensure that the objectives of formalising alternative homelessness response can be communicated and later promoted for implementation across local authorities and their partners, UK-wide;
• Academic Partner - Formation of an academic partnership with an institution which can incubate educational products and services for members, as well as provide research and evaluation support;
• Membership Body - Strong association with a respected representative organisation or membership body who advocate a ‘Housing First’ led approach towards homelessness;
• Social Investment – Funders and financiers who support our vision and share our ethos and goals;
• Corporate Engagement - Reputable corporate organisations which can assist with movement building and the acquisition of financial and practical resources;
• Lived Experience of Homelessness and/or Recovery – those with lived experience of homelessness will be vital contributors in designing new services.

There have long been calls in Britain for design of a radical new strategy which can appropriately address homelessness and its wider associated issues, and the scale of homelessness is now such that a renewed government strategy is a must. No one should be homeless in Britain today.

As we strive to align, nurture and showcase the work of industry change-makers, leaders, experts and specialists, our aim is to positively impact on homelessness at individual, local, regional, national and international levels.

As we enter 2018, we have an opportunity to totally radicalise our approach for the better, with innovative new solutions; the vibrant towns and cities of the United Kingdom poised to be at the forefront of creating magnificent social change.

I now publicly call on UK government to engage modern social entrepreneurship and back further exploration of the ‘Social Property Investment’ address to end 21st Century Homelessness. Firstly, with a commitment to an allocation of seed funding being made available to support further research and the initial development of these conceptual ideas.

This is a formal proposal for assistance to launch a ‘Social Property Investment’ led attack on 21st Century homelessness in Britain. A strategy which finds the balance between housing, as a commodity and housing as a basic human right; one which makes practical, logistical and economic sense, whilst displaying tolerance, compassion and empathy towards those who need our help the most.

Copyright © by Amy.F.Varle, January 2018.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
The views and opinions expressed in this report and its content are those of the author and not of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, which has no responsibility or liability for any part of the report.

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