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The Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance
This is a partnership between 6 local housing charities, local councils and the Lived Experience Advisory Forum—LEAF. Through LEAF, the Alliance includes people from the homeless community. OHM also participate at meetings.
The Alliance members have agreed to work together in new ways. Their aim is to prevent and resolve homelessness across Oxfordshire.
This way of working means charity providers and councils across the county can come together to tackle homelessness in all its complexity.
Background
A housing led approach—also called ‘housing first’ and ‘rapid rehousing’—operates under the belief that everyone has a right to a home. It removes the condition that someone must be tenancy ‘ready’. Our county took on this approach after a feasibility study (summary report, full report).
Oxfordshire is the first UK county to adopt the approach. Progress on delivery will be in our future news releases.
Working with
LEAF is an independent group run by and for people with lived experience of homelessness.
LEAF offers Forum members a safe space to come together to look at solutions on how to improve the homeless pathways and connecting services within Oxfordshire. LEAF also recognises that collaborative working and sharing best practice is an important cog to changing systems for the benefit of the people using the services. LEAF encourages and practises sharing of learning and knowledge to also improve services nationally.
Alliance providers
A2Dominion is one of the UK’s leading housing providers with over 38,000 homes across London and Southern England. The Group provides affordable, private, and social rented homes, student, NHS, and temporary accommodation, as well as supported housing and homes for older people.
While the Group takes a commercial approach to housebuilding, all its profits are used for a social purpose, with millions of pounds reinvested into delivering more new homes and better services for customers.
Aspire Oxfordshire is an employment and housing charity and social enterprise, working throughout Oxfordshire and in the wider region to support people facing homelessness, disadvantage and marginalisation, into and towards fulfilling employment and secure housing. They support individuals through a range of activities to develop confidence and resilience, so that they are able to find and sustain a job, housing, and improve their lives for the future.
Elmore Community Services is a Thames Valley third-sector provider of personality disorder, complex needs, domestic abuse, and homelessness services. Last year over 1,000 people used Elmore’s services. Elmore is an accredited Living Wage and Oxford Living Wage charity with a mission to fill the gaps in existing services.
Homeless Oxfordshire has over 35 years’ experience of delivering successful accommodation and support to some of the most vulnerable people in our local communities. Over 300 people use their services every year.
Their mission is to provide support and security through the provision of short term accommodation and access to activities that help guide people in the journey out of homelessness and towards recovery.
Connection Support's team of staff members and volunteers provide expert support to vulnerable people with complex and challenging needs across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Milton Keynes. Their aim is to solve homelessness and achieve independence for all clients, and to do that they provide a wide range of services which offer support with homelessness, housing support, mental health, independent living, preventing isolation, parental mentoring, refugee resettlement and social prescribing. This aim is fully inclusive, which means they work with people who are at risk of ‘falling through the gaps’ to make sure that no one is left behind. They believe that every human being is a valuable member of our society and should be treated as such.
St Mungo’s is a leading homelessness charity with national influence. They work in partnership with local authorities, health colleagues and communities, to end homelessness and rebuild lives.
St Mungo’s services in Oxford include Outreach for people experiencing rough sleeping. They also run Somewhere Safe to Stay, for people who are new to or at risk of homelessness, and Housing First accommodation to provide people with a long-term home.
Also working with
- Oxford City Council
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Vale of White Horse, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire and West Oxfordshire District Councils.
See also
- Launch press release on Homeless Oxfordshire’s website.