Blogmas: Day 6 Housing first, a strengths based approach...

When I first heard about Housing First, I like many in the voluntary sector, thought, “Yes! This is brilliant.” It was a way of articulating and putting into practice what many support workers want for their clients: an alternative to the hostel ‘housing-ready’ model and the chance of a permanent home of their own.

I had always believed that the system we work in (where clients are expected to prove “housing readiness”, usually in shared accommodation setting, before moving on to their own tenancy) does not work for everyone and was so excited to have the opportunity to work in a new way. However, practising in this new way comes with a new set of challenges and forced me to check a lot of preconceptions and old habits at the door and I wanted to reflect on how this made me feel as a worker:

Working with complex clients, who might be going through mental health crises or using substances chaotically; there is a level of reassurance knowing that if they are living in a staffed environment there will be someone there to support them should things escalate or worsen. When I first worked with housing first I found the idea of vulnerable clients living in their own tenancy, with no one to check in on them 24/7, a daunting prospect.

By thinking this way I was focusing on the client’s deficits. We all have a responsibility to manage risk but assessing risk alongside the client through open, honest discussion about their resilience, coping strategies, support networks, self care skills, awareness and ultimately their long list of strengths will keep them safer than than making a substantially shorter list of behaviours that would put them at risk.

There are risks attached to Housing First; but unless we focus on a customers strengths and assets when we assess risk, we will deprive them of a chance to thrive in a place they can call their own.