Blog entry – 26 August 2008
Trying to find my way through a myriad of documents from the likes of the NHF, Sitra and Homeless link makes me think “how can three trade organisations have so many interpretations on the same piece of policy?” On reflection it’s quite easy to understand. The government both national and local seem to have problems in deciding what they want from our sector. Sometimes it’s service delivery, sometimes it’s answers to incredibly difficult problems, such as,”what’s the impact of the credit crunch on homelessness?” Although this sounds like a no brainer, the affect is indeed complex especially for our client groups.
The complete lack of decent private rented accommodation will make moving people from supported housing to independence almost impossible. The fact that we have large numbers of people accessing our outreach services seems to provide evidence to support the last single homeless survey, which said that there were over 300 people either sleeping rough or who had slept rough in Kent over the period of the survey.
Deciding on how we as an organisation are going to meet these challenges was, in part, debated today at a Senior Management Team meeting; resourcing a growing charity and maintaining our commitment to continuous improvement is a difficult balancing act. So the fact that our front line teams are getting such incredible results within what is becoming a very hostile and difficult housing environment speaks volumes about the dedication and professionalism of our staff.
