Sign our online pledge

Becoming Homeless Friendly

Please read the below information carefully. We have outlined the key steps you, and your organisation, can take to support people experiencing homelessness.

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The duty of local authorities regarding people experiencing homelessness and the process for referrals

  1. A person may be considered homeless if they are street homeless (rough sleeping), sofa surfing, staying at a hostel, a B&B (not on holiday) or in temporary accommodation.
  2. If a person informs you they are homeless or threatened with homelessness, the council (or local authority) have a duty to offer assistance as directed within the Homeless Reduction Act.
  3. You can refer the person via The Duty To Refer (Homeless Reduction Act), how to refer can be found on the Council's Website within their homeless/housing section and is usually an online form.

Registering a person experiencing homelessness when they are unable to provide an address

  1. When supporting a person who is homeless, ensure that you ask the person how they would like you to contact them such as phone, text, email or address (this could be a day service support or a friend’s address).
  2. If a person informs you they are homeless or threatened with homelessness, the council (or local authority) have a duty to offer assistance as directed within the Homeless Reduction Act.
  3. Some people experiencing homelessness have difficulty completing forms. This could be due to English being a second language, difficulty reading and writing or simply not having reading glasses. Always offer to assist a person to complete necessary paperwork.

Providing flexible assistance

  1. Expecting people to telephone or attend the surgery at a certain time to make an appointment may be extremely difficult for a person who is homeless. - A person that is experiencing homelessness may have experienced traumas which could result in trust issues.
  2. A person may contact you as a last resort. By being flexible and understanding you may be able to start building up a relationship of trust.

Fair access procedures

  1. People experiencing homelessness are often discriminated against when trying to access certain services due to a variety of different factors, including a lack of permanent address, mental health issues, and emotional trauma from living on the streets.
  2. We ask organisations to examine their policies and procedures to ensure that they do not prevent people who are currently homeless from accessing a respectful and inclusive service.

The importance of signposting

  1. Many people living on the streets will not be aware of which organisations are committed to being Homeless Friendly, and therefore open to receiving them.
  2. As a result, we ask all organisations subscribing to our pledge to make use of the complementary stickers and materials that we send to them, to let people know that they are welcome inside.
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Contact details

We list Homeless Friendly GP Practices and other relevant organisations on our website, and ask for a named person as the contact.

This enables support organisations or an individual to know who to contact should there be a problem. Having a named person - or a champion as they are often described - encourages the named person to develop an expertise in relation to local support services.

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