"Nicola Sturgeon is like someone's big cousin that gets phoned when an empty gets out of hand" is my second favourite ever description of a politician I've seen on twitter. My most favourite was about David Cameron circa September 2015 but I'm not allowed to write that here.
As we approach the end of 2017 you'd be pushed to argue it's been a quiet year for politics. Brexit, Indyref2, Kezia in the jungle... even my most politically indifferent pals haven't been stuck for talking points.
But in the spirit of "doing the day job" let’s strip it back to policy. Less headline grabbing than the previously mentioned topics, but one of the most significant steps Sturgeon's government have done this year is to commission a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group, backed by a £50m budget over 5 years. The group is made up of key representatives from Scotland's homelessness sector; from street teams, to law centres. Its purpose is simple - end homelessness.
I contacted Glasgow homlessness Network, one of the members of the Rough Sleeping Action Group, to ask for more information. They advised the four key areas the group are to recommend on are:
- Transforming temporary accommodation
- Eradicate rough sleeping for good
- (significantly) How to end homeless in Scotland, and;
- (urgently) Ways to minimise rough sleeping this winter
National news touched on one of their recommendations this week explaining how Scotland would be tackling homelessness by following the evidence-based "housing first" model. "Housing first" is exactly that; a home for all of us. You bypass the unnecessary and expensive culture of temporary housing, testing someone's housing “readiness”, and periods of rough sleeping, and instead rapidly provide people with a home - a human and legal right - with the support they might need received from a stable base. International evidence over decades backs this approach.
"Housing first" is an initiative that's so ground-breaking because it's what we've repeatedly been failing to do. Prevention is better than cure. For situations where it cannot be prevented, house someone. People don't need an earned approach to housing, they don't need ghetto’d into "homeless villages" (hint: if they worked, we would be doing them) they don't need to be lost in a system of hostels and b&bs. Rough sleeping is a by-product of a system of temporary measures we need to get rid of entirely. Housing first is revolutionary because it works - as the Nordic and Finnish housing first model proves. Homelessness costs. Not only are you tackling the social and moral issue of homelessness - you're saving money too.
Scotland is one of the very few countries in the world where the local authority has a legal duty to home you. If you appeared at your local authority in England & Wales, they only have a statutory obligation to house you in specific circumstances. While it sounds like a relief people have this legal protection here; for anyone who has been through the system you aren't naive enough to think those laws are upheld in every part of Scotland. Rock up at a few local authorities in Scotland the answer isn't much different to the rest of the UK. Stretched services mean there are sometimes very simply, no homes - or massive difficulties getting access to them. Policy is only as good as its implementation and frontline services aren't always implementing. Tory cuts to welfare have seen homelessness double since they came to power in 2010. They have pledged to halve homelessness by 2020 – meaning they only promise to undo the damage they caused themselves. We need change. We need homes. We need properly-funded support.
Going back to my original quote... I love this description as it sums up the common sense approach politicians should have, which we seem to be fortunate to have across (most) parties in Scotland. It is painful to see rough sleeping, even more so in a sub-zero season of excess. Hopefully Christmas 2018 sees a different kind of article than this one. We're all ready for it.
Blog by Catherine McGarrell
