On Monday 9th May we had our third Leeds Women’s Homelessness and Housing Frontline Network meeting and it was an incredible turn out of practitioners and front-line workers from all over Leeds! We had some brilliant discussions, and it was so wonderful to come away with key practical changes to make in the work we do.
What went on?
We were lucky to have Bryan Wagner-Adair from Leeds City Council present an update on the Citywide Homeless Prevention Strategy. He also led a discussion on the effects of gender and hidden homelessness on homelessness statistics in Leeds, and potential ways to improve the gaps in services across the city.
The discussions Bryan led focused on the growing relationship between strategic and frontline work and explored how front-line workers and policy can work together to create lasting change. He discussed the work of the council in expanding social housing stock in contrast with the limitations tied to Right to Buy, as well as the incredible work of Housing First programmes across the city.
We were also joined by Bethan, the new lead practitioner for Together Women Project’s ‘Somewhere Safe to Live’ (which you can read more about here). She discussed the project so far and the future of the project. This tied in with wider discussions around gendered approaches to temporary and supported accommodation, and how this relates to the incredible work of frontline workers across the city.
After the presentations from Bryan and Bethan, our Frontline Network co-facilitator Emilia held a space for reflections, in which some brilliant discussions on how best to build a network of practitioners and services on offer in Leeds were formulated.
Emilia asked about key gaps in services and training that our Frontline Network practitioners have noticed. Training around the link between homelessness, autism and ADHD was discussed, as well as LGBTQ+ domestic abuse and access to refuges with those with no recourse to public funds were all discussed. Training needs focused on how services could ensure they are as inclusive as possible.
This was a great opportunity for practitioners to share experience and offer advice. Thank you to everyone who came along to the training and offered their experience and insight into our discussions!
Reflections from practitioners
At the close of the session we asked everyone to reflect on the training. Practitioners overwhelmingly told us that they had gained something from the training that they would take forward into their practice. In particular, people stating the most useful piece of information they learned was:
“that there’s a way to feed-back direct from front-line at all!”
“hearing from practitioners about where they feel the gaps are in the city”
We’re so pleased to hear all this positive feedback! We want the network to be a space to draw from existing positives in the city and for frontline workers to shape improvements to the work we do. The fact that the network provides a space to discuss changes, offload frustrations and show frontline workers they are not alone means we are meeting our aims. The role of the network in developing new strategies and implementing positive practical change is a huge win, and we are proud to champion the needs of frontline workers supporting women across Leeds.
What’s next?
Our funders at the Frontline Network are hosting their Annual Conference hosted online on the 28th June, and you are invited!
During this day-long session, speakers from across the United Kingdom will be looking at how frontline workers utilise working together to enrich their work.. The conference will bring together a national network of frontline workers, exploring partnership working and how best to improve services together.
We’re proud to announce that Basis will be presenting a session exploring women’s experiences of accessing emergency accommodation alongside Solace Women’s Aid and the Connection at St Martins.
We encourage anyone working on the frontline in homelessness services to come along for what will be an engaging day of discussion, learning and shared experiences.
If you are interested in attending, read more via the Frontline Network page here.
Thank you to everyone who made suggestions for future topics and areas we could focus on in future meetings, as we look to continue to develop the Leeds Women’s Homelessness and Housing Frontline Network we really value your input on what would benefit practitioners in our Network.
Ps. Have you signed up to our Newsletter yet?
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If you missed our April newsletter you can read it here