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Helping people to transition away from support

Quality and Assurance Manager Dan Allman blogs about how people on the programme are aided to transition away from support


Whilst the Housing First model is designed to provide flexible support for as long as needed to the people we support, we hold the hope and desire for people to reach a point of stability where they feel that they don’t need the intensive support of Housing First anymore.


There are also a number of other circumstances where it may be necessary to ‘transition’ a person away

from our support.


In order to support our workers to navigate the process of transitioning a person away from our support, we have co-produced a transitions framework with frontline staff and people from our co-production panel.


The framework acts as a good practice guide for staff, recognising that everyone we support has individual circumstances whilst providing guidance on programme expectations when people want to or need to move away from our support.


The transitions framework focuses on four different circumstances when a person might need to move away from our support:

  • When Housing First support is no longer needed

  • When Housing First is not the suitable pathway for a person’s needs

  • When a person enters prison

  • When a person withdraws their consent to be supported by the programme


When thinking about these different scenarios we have identified a set of ‘key ingredients’ that apply to all of the above transitions types.

  • Person first not service: any decisions about transitioning away from the support of Housing First should be led by the person not dictated by the service. Any plans to transition away from support should be co-produced with the person.

  • Communication: workers should be completely open and honest with the people they support about what moving away from the support of Housing First will mean for them and ensure all services and professionals involved in the persons support are kept fully informed.

  • Ease of access: the routes back in to Housing First support for people who have transitioned away should be clearly explained, simple to navigate and free from hurdles/bureaucracy.

  • Seamless: Housing First teams will remain in contact with those who have moved away from support or other services supporting them for a period of time led by the person until they are ready and in a good position for contact to end. 

  • Sustainable: no transition should result in a return to homelessness for people and Housing First workers should ensure that people have a network of support around them before people transition away from the service

  • Trauma Informed: all transitions need to be supported in a trauma-informed way and following the ‘No Surprise’ approach with language used around any transition being crucial


If the person is accommodated in their own tenancy when they decide to move away from our support, it is crucial that our frontline teams are communicating with the landlord so that they are aware that there is a plan for the support of Housing First to come to an end.


Whilst the decision and plan to move away from support is led by the person, our workers will ensure that there has been a period of stability in their tenancy, there are no rent arrears and the person is settled with no recent ASB complaints before continuing a conversation with the person around transitioning away from our intensive support.


It is important that feedback from the landlord is included in discussions and plans with the person to aid their decision making around moving away from our support.


The transitions framework also introduces the concept of ‘Person-Initiated Contact’ to see how a person will get on without the active engagement and intensity of Housing First support.


This is when the onus of contact and asking for support is the responsibility of the person and they know to contact the team if and when they require support, this acts as a safe way for the person to trial not being pro-actively supported.


Person-Initiated contact is only used as a trial of moving away from support so the person should be in a stable place with little need for the intensive support that the Housing First model offers.

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