THANKS, W!:

Housing First is one such solution - complex, yes; expensive too. However, this evidence-based approach has successfully supported homeless people with high needs and histories of entrenched or repeat homelessness to live in their own homes.

As the name suggests, it provides housing 'first', as a matter of right, rather than 'last' or as a reward - it is not only successful in ending the cycle of homelessness, but it is also, I believe, a moral and humane approach to tackling homelessness.

Set up in 2016, the methodology has been widely adopted across the US, is central to the national homelessness strategies in Canada, Denmark, Finland and France, and is growing in popularity in countries including Italy, Sweden, Spain and - I'm happy to say - increasingly in the UK too. Housing First pilots are currently operating in Newcastle, London, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, on the South Coast and in Wales and Scotland with great success, providing a stable, independent home and intensive personalised support for homeless people with multiple and complex needs.

Currently, there are no conditions around 'housing readiness' before providing someone with a home - rather, secure housing is viewed as a stable platform from which other issues can be addressed.

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