Reflections on 21 years at SSP
Posted: 7 October 2022 6:13 pm.
Ben Courtney, Director of Operations
It’s my 21st this November.
Not my 21st birthday (I wish!), my 21st year at Stepping Stone Projects (SSP). That’s more than two decades of working for an amazing charity providing accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
So, I’m taking a moment to reflect upon my observations and learnings from these 21 years.
A lot has happened in our organisation over that time, including growing our offer to support over 750 people each year. A lot has also happened in our region, our country and society as a whole. Whilst we’ve seen governments change and technology transform at breakneck pace, we’ve sadly seen the inequality gap widen.
These are some key things I’ve taken away from this period.
1. Short-termism isn’t working
Our housing and homelessness crisis has become undeniably worse since I started working in this sector. Despite significant change in supported housing, government policy and the socio-economic situation in the UK, homelessness in its many and often hidden forms, has been a constant.
I’ve experienced the invention, implementation and ultimately dismantling of the Supporting People programme, the introduction of the Housing First model, ABEN, Everyone In, and lots of initiatives beginning with “R” (RSI, RSAP, RTOF).
Whilst welcome and positive these programmes have not been enough. Piece-meal and short-term initiatives have worked to an extent and there are certainly individual success stories. But the wider, systemic issues are compounding. We need long-term, collective action.
Something else that hasn’t changed throughout this period is mine and SSP’s passion for reducing, preventing, and eventually eradicating homelessness.
2. Collaboration is key
Stepping Stone Projects’ different approaches to national crises stand out to me when I look back over the last 21 years. Strong partnership working has always been a central theme. Without effective partnerships, we are simply not going to achieve our ultimate vision of ending homelessness.
Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic is one such example. Many homelessness services were understandably having to scale back or even close. We knew that those experiencing homelessness were even more vulnerable than usual, including risks to their physical health and losing their usual ports of call for basics like food, income and support.
We recognised that with a reduced workforce in the sector and homeless people more at risk of the virus than those in self-contained accommodation, local authorities would face unprecedented demand.
So, SSP contacted every council in Greater Manchester and East Lancashire offering our expertise. Almost all were in need of some sort of help.
Our suggested approach was to lease properties from Registered Providers and private rented sector landlords, furnish them and make them available to homelessness teams for those in housing need.
Whilst not a completely original idea, the beauty of this model was that we could take properties on quickly, and one at a time, as per local authorities’ needs. People were offered a safe, secure home within the community and the whole property was theirs to use (and safely isolate in). It removed the challenges other grouped schemes faced when peers were living together, putting each other at risk of contracting the virus.
During the pandemic, across 10 different local authority areas, SSP delivered over 300 new homes. Many of the people who benefitted from these services have taken positive steps forward in their lives and moved onto more permanent accommodation.
It’s these ideas which are properly funded with buy-in from all key partners that have historically been most effective.
3. Ultimately, we need more homes.
Whilst approaches like this were brilliant in effectively ‘ring fencing’ accommodation for homeless customers, the flip side was they took properties away from the rented sector and didn’t actually create any new stock.
We simply do not have enough homes. According to the National Housing Federation, 8.5 million people in England have some form of unmet housing need. I’ll write that again; 8.5 million! Until we increase the supply of desperately needed homes, even the greatest schemes are tinkering at the edges.
As SSP, we however have been able to make a contribution, including via our asset based grouped accommodation.
For example, working with our development partners Cornerstone Place (a social enterprise), SSP acquired an out of use Victorian property (previously used as an 11-bedroom HMO) in Tameside. We converted it into 13 fully furnished self-contained studio apartments.
Stamford Villa opened its doors to homeless people in April 2022 and has been fully occupied ever since. One resident told us "Since I've been here, it's changed my life completely. I've had support from all the staff, especially Jabeen, she's been here for me every step of the way. Any problems I've had or when I've been stressed she just took it all away. I'm feeling really positive and looking forward to the future. Thank you."
4. It’s about people
At the end of the day, every single person should have a safe, secure place to live. Our homes influence every other facet of our lives – health, wellbeing, safety, self-esteem – the list goes on.
For those of us working in the supported housing sector, we must never lose sight of the fact this is about human beings. Not numbers on a spread sheet or ‘beneficiaries’. People should be at the centre of designing solutions. Their voices should be heard and influencing policies.
This is why at SSP we believe that a range of accommodation and support options are vital in tackling homelessness. Individuals’ needs differ depending on where they are on their journey. They may require each option at different times and to move between different services.
5. The pandemic showed us what’s possible. Let’s not lose momentum
In the midst of the pandemic, we saw red tape being removed, brave decision-making, better collaboration and much faster responses. There is a huge opportunity here to continue the momentum that we collectively built in response to a global emergency. We have shown that by working together, we can achieve incredible things.
So, 21 years in (and by 2026 I will have been at SSP half my life!), and I feel more driven and committed to contributing to the end of homelessness than ever before.
After all this time, I still can’t think of anything I’d prefer to do, would be more passionate about or find more rewarding.
It was brought into perspective to me recently when I told a colleague I started at SSP in 2001, and he said: “I was born in 2001!”
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a stepping stone to independence
