Moving On From Homelessness

Once families have engaged with our hostel-based services for children and parents, we offer them a range of in-depth support to help stabilise their finances and remove barriers to securing a new tenancy.

Family Support Work

Homelessness rarely exists in isolation. Families in temporary accommodation are often dealing with immigration issues, family law proceedings, benefit problems, debt or social care involvement — all of which can deepen hardship and delay their move into settled housing.

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Our Family Support Caseworkers provide holistic, one-to-one support to help families navigate these challenges. Working alongside families, we address the barriers that impact both their wellbeing and their housing outcomes.

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Support includes:

  • Immigration and NRPF-related support, including referrals to legal aid and statutory advocacy
  • Family law support and assistance through court processes
  • Benefits advice, income maximisation and employment support
  • Advocacy within social care and Team Around the Family processes
  • Poverty relief through grant applications and referrals to food and baby banks

This intensive, relationship-based work improves families’ stability and strengthens their ability to move on from homelessness.

Housing Casework and Advocacy

Our Housing Casework and Advocacy service helps families understand their rights and navigate an increasingly complex and hostile housing system.

Our Housing Rights Manager works directly with families to explain their housing case, explore realistic options and advocate on their behalf with local authorities and housing providers.

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This includes:

  • Explaining housing duties and temporary accommodation processes
  • Supporting bidding and private rented sector searches
  • Escalating cases and challenging unsuitable offers
  • Advocating with allocations and PRS teams
  • Referring to housing solicitors and supporting suitability reviews

By combining legal understanding with frontline advocacy, we empower families to make informed decisions and push for fair outcomes.

Housing Advice Surgeries

We also deliver housing advice drop-ins for families living in temporary accommodation beyond our core hostels. Delivered in partnership with community organisations across Camden and Hackney, these sessions extend access to specialist housing advice for families who would otherwise struggle to get support.

Homebuilder Service

Moving into a settled home should be a moment of relief — but for many families, it brings new financial and practical crises. Properties are often unfurnished, utilities disconnected, and families are left to navigate rent, council tax and benefits systems alone.

Our Homebuilder Service supports families through the critical transition into settled accommodation, helping them establish safe, sustainable homes and avoid early tenancy failure.

We support families by:

  • Providing essential furnishings through our Homebuilder Fund
  • Ensuring properties are safe, habitable and fully connected
  • Setting up rent, council tax and utility accounts
  • Applying for Discretionary Housing Payments
  • Negotiating early-tenancy rent issues

This intervention protects tenancies, prevents repeat homelessness and ensures families can begin rebuilding their lives with dignity.