[open access] The role of housing providers in supporting clients with complex needs (FR428) (original) (raw)
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Mental health and housing: developing a care and support pathway
Housing, Care and Support, 2010
This article describes the development of the Supported to Independent Living project (SIL), which is for the support and care for people with mental health needs in Oxfordshire to live as independently as possible in ordinary housing in the community. The project is a partnership between NHS Oxfordshire (Primary Care Trust), the Oxfordshire Supporting People programme and Oxfordshire County Council Social and Community Services. Although there was a very vigorous development of community living for people with longstanding mental health needs through the provision of group homes, particularly in Oxford City that started in 1963, there has not been an overall strategy for the development of mental health services for the County as a whole. The needs of a diverse, younger, often more mobile and potentially more challenging group of service users for housing with appropriate care and support have not been met. A joint strategy between the County Council and the Primary Care Trust (PCT) to meet these needs has therefore been developed that introduces a pathway of linked accommodation and support arrangements. These range from intensive support through to floating support in the community, and are intended to offer individuals a guided pathway away from specialist services to more mainstream provision. The services are based on the principles of recovery, personalisation and ordinary housing. As well as achieving significantly reconfigured services the strategy has to deliver savings to meet the cuts imposed on the Supporting People programme grant by Central Government. The project has involved the PCT and the County Council in close partnership working, and important and significant involvement of and engagement with service users and carers. A framework agreement has been agreed by all of the organisations involved. It sets out the roles and responsibilities of each and covers local government, the NHS, housing and support.
Mental health and housing: making the links in policy, research and practice
Journal of Public Mental Health, 2005
This article documents policy developments at local and national level in England that reflect a growing recognition of the role of housing and the built environment in promoting and maintaining mental health. It first considers the evidence for the housing disadvantage experienced by people with moderate and severe mental health problems and the negative impact of poor housing and neighbourhood circumstances on mental health. It goes on to explore the expansion in housing‐related support and housing‐based solutions in the 1990s, and the revived ambition to integrate housing with community care and community cohesion initiatives. It concludes by describing the work of the NIMHE housing reference group in co‐ordinating policy guidance, promoting positive practice in communication and co‐operation between housing and mental health services, and conducting research to fill gaps in current understanding.
2013
More work needs to be done to support people living with mental illness to sustain social housing tenancies, argues this report. The paper explores the difficulties people with mental illness face accessing and maintaining social housing. The difficulties it identifies include: poor customer service and delayed/inadequate communications from Housing NSW; inappropriate offers of social housing premises that are unsuited to the physical or psychological needs of the applicants; inflexible application of Housing NSW policies in relation to accessing priority status; housing related debts leading to tenancy termination; neighbour disputes.
Housing, Care and Support, 2011
PurposeThis paper is an extended review and expert commentary on a recently published study by the Centre for Housing Policy (CHP) which discusses the complexities of research in “housing related support” in the UK context, and proposes further work. This review aims to explore the strengths and limitations of the study; and the potential wider relevance outside the UK research context.Design/methodology/approachThe review methodology is traditionally that of expert opinion. The reviewer draws upon previous evaluation studies of mental health and housing, commissioned by the UK Dept of Health, the (Dept of) Communities and Local Government, the National Institute for Mental Health in England, and the Care Services Improvement Partnership, including additional material on the Mental Health Minimum Dataset.FindingsThe CHP report reviewed raises important questions over the complexities of evidencing innovative services. Despite some omissions, it should be helpful to health local comm...
A Place to Call My Own: Identifying Best Practice in Housing and Mental Health
State of Australian Cities …, 2007
Over the past few years, there has been a growing debate in Australian society about the way housing processes can contribute to social exclusion. Despite this debate some commentators argue that Australian housing policy lacks recognition that the issue of deinstitutionalisation is also a rehousing process, which has the potential for achieving social inclusion for people moving into the community. Although housing plays an integral role in deinstitutionalisation, its importance is often submerged and even lost in academic and policy debates about community care in Australia . Yet suitable housing is a key aspect in the community sustainability of deinstitutionalised individuals with psychiatric disability, whereby they can, potentially, be provided with some choice and control over where and with whom they live. Indeed, gaining control over these aspects of life is considered a critical step towards achieving social inclusion. Our research project aims to identify the housing aspirations and preferences of people with psychiatric disability moving from institutional to community care. This paper reports on the first stage of the research, which synthesizes and identifies baseline evidence from the international literature about suitable models of housing and the housing preferences of people with psychiatric disability.
Journal of Public Health, 2019
Background The rising prevalence of mental health problems is a growing public health issue. Poor mental health is not equally distributed across social groups and is associated with poverty and insecure housing. An evaluation of a social housing intervention provided an opportunity to explore the connections between housing and wider determinants of health and wellbeing. Methods We undertook 44 interviews with social housing tenants over a two-year period to explore their views on housing, health and wellbeing. Results Poor mental health was common. The results suggest that perceptions of housing quality, service responsiveness, community safety, benefit changes and low income all have a detrimental effect on tenants' mental health. Conclusions Social housing providers who wish to have a positive impact on the mental health of their tenants need to consider how to best support or mitigate the impact of these stresses. Addressing traditional housing officer functions such as reporting or monitoring home repairs alongside holistic support remains an important area where social housing departments can have substantial health impact. Tackling the complex nature of mental health requires a joined up approach between housing and a number of services.
2010
This paper uses data from a case study of mental health reform in South Australia (2000-2005) to consider perceptions on housing related problems experienced by people with a psychiatric disability, as compared with 'problems' represented within policies and policy debates. The case study included qualitative interviews (n=31) and focus groups (n=8) with mental health service user and carer representatives, NGOs and public servants across the health, disability and housing sectors. It also involved participation observation of key NGOs across the health and housing sector (n=52) and a review of mental health and housing policies across 2000-2005. The paper uses policy theory to consider the influence of social and political factors upon how 'problems' are conceived within policy and policy networks. It concludes by highlighting policy actors, discourses and problems which were promoted and underplayed within policy discussions, the implications for policy across sectors, along with policy trends across mental health, housing and homelessness.