Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024-2029
Action Plan: Action 2 aims and objectives
Ensure that our service is accessible to all and engage and assist households who have difficulty receiving our services
Aim 1 +
Communication and messaging delivers consistent information regarding housing options and challenges, to manage client and partner expectations.
Objectives:
Ensure partners are providing clear and consistent advice on housing options to clients within their services.
Ensure website, leaflets, standard letters, and other communication up to date and relevant.
Actions:
Provide training and information on housing issues for internal and external partners.
Ensure that information is clear and consistent and up to date.
Establish a communication plan to use all available opportunities so that information on housing issues and challenges is far reaching.
Promote co-location or increased work shadowing with partner agencies to help build relationships and understand of each other’s roles and responsibilities.
Owner:
Housing Options Team Leader
Strategic Housing Team Leader
Success measure or outcome:
Clients that require support and housing advice are accessing it at an earlier stage, reducing crisis presentations, temporary accommodation access or rough sleeping.
Implementation timescale:
Year 1
Aim 2 +
Clients requiring additional support to access services are identified and appropriate adjustments made to meet the needs of all clients
Objectives:
Deliver services with a strong focus on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.
Improve access to services for groups who may be disadvantaged or have difficulty engaging.
Actions:
Review the support needs of clients for whom English is not their first language. Ensure that suitable and accessible translation services are available.
Consider officers having specialisms within the Housing Team to work with specific groups, undertake relevant training and share knowledge with colleagues.
Review the effectiveness of telephone translation is sufficient when explaining complicated legal matters such as homeless discharges.
Consider the needs of those with multiple disadvantages and ensure services are available where clients are best placed to engage.
Owner:
Housing Options Team Leader
Single Homeless Co-ordinator
Success measure or outcome:
The vulnerability of clients is acknowledged and the contributory effect that this could have on accessing support and housing advice.
That vulnerable clients are not unduly affected in our reported figures regarding achieving effective outcomes in preventing and relieving rough sleeping.
Implementation timescale:
Year 1
Aim 3 +
Clients within the various resettlement schemes can access housing options services in Cherwell
Objectives:
Reduce risks of these vulnerable groups being threatened with homelessness or rough sleeping in Cherwell.
Ensure that there are pathways available to all types of housing, removing barriers that could be associated.
Provide support to enable integration into communities, reducing isolation and exacerbating housing insecurity.
Actions:
Ensure effective internal partnership working between allocations, housing options and resettlement teams to ensure holistic support to clients.
Ensure the provision of a resettlement focus and liaison single point of contact within the Housing Options Team, to ensure that the pathway is understood and vulnerabilities or difficulties accessing services are established and mitigated.
Consider additional support schemes that could assist people achieve permanent housing who have been resettled.
Ensure effective working across the County and support and move on.
Analyse data returns regularly and put into place appropriate measure to ensure that resettlement clients are not being disadvantaged when receiving housing options services.
Owner:
Housing Options Team Leader
Head of Resettlement
Success measure or outcome:
That the client group is not unduly disadvantaged and is able to access the pathway in a way that is fair and meets their needs.
