Scottish Government launches fund to prevent homelessness

The Scottish Government has announced a new partnership programme to help prevent people from becoming homeless.

The £1 million Upstream Homelessness Prevention Fund will bring together Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), third sector organisations, community groups and other local partners to expand on existing successful approaches to preventing homelessness.

Partnerships funded by the programme a cash fund for individual payments of up to £1,300 to help prevent people becoming homeless.

The programme, which will run for a year, will also help to inform RSLs will carry out the new Ask and Act prevention duties outlined in the Housing Bill currently progressing through Parliament.

The scheme will be administered by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Homeless Network Scotland.

Launching the plan, social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The aim of the fund is to break the cycle of repeat homelessness by providing targeted joined-up support for people struggling to pay their rent while also having to navigate housing, health and social care services.

“This early intervention approach will help to minimise evictions by upstream prevention activity and identifying opportunities to build up support systems where they are needed. This will help people to keep their tenancies and prevent them from becoming homeless.

“The scheme will also provide valuable feedback for the wider RSL network and provide examples of service design and delivery that can be replicated in other places and contexts.”

Scottish Federation of Housing Associations Chief Executive Sally Thomas said: "We are delighted to administer this important funding, which will complement the significant efforts housing associations make to help people remain in their homes.  This could include providing direct cash interventions to those facing financial difficulties, or forming local partnerships to make use of shared spaces and staff to create joined-up approaches to homelessness prevention.

“Beyond the funding, this programme will also provide vital insights on the support needed to help people at risk of homelessness and inform future approaches to partnership working to deliver the Ask and Act duty.”