Housing First is a housing and support approach which:
Housing First is a housing and support approach which:
- Gives people who have experienced homelessness and chronic health and social care needs a stable home from which to rebuild their lives.
- Provides intensive, person-centred, holistic support that is open-ended.
- Places no conditions on individuals; however, they should desire to have a tenancy.
The Housing First approach was first developed in New York by Pathways to Housing in 1992. It has since been widely adopted in the USA and become central to the national homelessness strategies in Canada, Denmark, Finland and France, demonstrating widespread success.
In England, since 2010, a growing number of local areas have established Housing First services to meet and identified need.
Housing First resources
Housing First for housing providers
Up-to-date, practical guidance and resources to support housing providers to provide properties for Housing First services.
Find out moreHousing First for commissioners
The latest guidance and practical resources to support the commissioning of successful Housing First services. You may also be interested in our research reports.
Find out moreHousing First for service providers
A comprehensive set of practical guidance and resources to support the delivery of successful Housing First services.
Find out moreEngaging other sectors
Resources to support those involved in Housing First to engage the criminal justice, health, mental health, social care and substance use sectors.
Find out moreUpcoming Housing First events
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Housing First Community of Practice - commissioners
Connect with other Housing First commissioners to discuss fidelity to the principles and explore the new fidelity assurance framework.
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Autism and homelessness: community of practice
Come along to our free community of practice session to improve understanding of autism in a homelessness context and how to best support autistic individuals experiencing homelessness.
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Rural Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Community of Practice: in partnership with English Rural
Housing First-related training
We provide a range of training related to Housing First for managers and practitioners as well as a general overview of the model.
Housing First resident stories
Tim's story
Tim was street homeless for 20 years, punctuated by stays in two different hostels, before becoming a client of SHP's Islington Housing First service in 2020. His flat has changed his life and he now feels he has hope for the future.
Find out moreTristan's story
This is the story of Tristan, one of Golden Key's Housing First clients. He tells us about his life and how he got trapped in a vicious cycle of homelessness and addiction until he was offered a home and turned his life around.
Find out moreKatherine's story
After joining Emerging Futures, Katherine said she started to think optimistically about the future and to feel part of the wider community, giving her a chance to form and sustain friendships.
Find out moreThe story of Housing First in Greater Manchester
Since 2018, Greater Manchester has been one of three areas running government funded Housing First pilots. This video shows the amazing progress of the service and the impact it has had on some of the people involved.
Find out morePatrick's story
The people involved in Camden Housing First explain what makes the service successful, and what it means to them.
Find out moreLuke's story
Luke* joined Emerging Futures in July 2016, and proved to be a model Housing First tenant. His had an easy going and pleasant manner and has embraced our culture, making massive changes and directing his life towards independent living.
Find out more
Talk To Us About Housing First
