Barking & Dagenham Council saved in excess of £550,000 by re-housing over 80 homeless individuals and households into permanent social housing.
This success was achieved in less than three years since joining our national move-on scheme, Homefinder UK.
Many of these applicants have been housed via Revive, our project dedicated to supporting domestic abuse survivors find a safe, secure and affordable home as quickly as possible.
Use of Personal Housing Plan (PHP’s) and Commitment forms
The key to Barking and Dagenham’s quick progress? Passionate, frontline officer, Sharon Davis with two years’ experience working in the Housing and Homeless Department discussed the importance of fully understanding the applicants’ needs. And she revealed their success to achieving this is rigorous Homeless Assessment combined with honest and realistic conversations with their applicants. The Personal Housing Plan and Commitment Form then make sure that the applicant fully understands the process and what is and is not being offered to them. These forms clarify and set realistic expectations, reducing risk of confusion or dissatisfaction later down the line.
Zubair Bawa, who has more than 15 years’ experience working in the Housing and Homeless department of Barking and Dagenham Council shared his thoughts on the Homefinder UK scheme:
“Through this collaborative partnership with Homefinder UK, we can rebuild lives of people in need of urgent social housing. The scheme delivers cost effective services and I recommend for other councils to use Homefinder UK as an effective Homelessness prevention tool.”
Story of Mr A - an applicant fleeing an abusive household
Mr A had been suffering from bullying and harassment by the people he was sharing private rented accommodation with. After a violent attack from these tenants, Mr A was more desperate than ever to flee the abuse and find sanctuary.
On seeking help from his local authority, Barking and Dagenham, Mr A was relieved to be helped by a kind, patient and dedicated staff member. Once Barking and Dagenham contacted ourselves, we worked resolutely to the amazing result of Mr A moving into his new home just three weeks later.
Mr A said of his move:
“I love everything about the property and the neighbourhood. It’s all totally amazing and taking a while to sink in. Thank you for working a miracle for me.”
