Council investment in housing for vulnerable residents

119 units of accommodation with be provided for people with mental health conditions reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

A tent on the pavement in Seven Sisters in Tottenham — Rough Sleeping in Seven Sisters, Haringey (Credit – LDRS)

Haringey Council has agreed to invest in specialist adult housing services as part of its plans to end homelessness in the borough.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (30th June), the council approved plans to begin procurement of housing-related support for single adults with complex needs.

The ambition is to deliver approximately 119 units of the accommodation, which will include specialist support for service users suffering from mental health conditions.

Speaking on Tuesday, Tammy Hymas, cabinet member for housing, argued that the alternative to implementing the scheme would be placing vulnerable residents in temporary accommodation or in privately rented homes “without the kind of specific and tailored support that enables people to go down that journey of recovery”.

This, she said, would also cost the council more money in the long run.

Contracts for the new provision are set to be awarded later this year before a “staggered commencement” of the service from next April onwards.

The contracts could last up to a decade, running from April 2027 to 31st March 2037. An initial £8.37m sum has been set aside for the first four years, which could go up to £24.4m for a full ten-year period. The local authority says performance and availability of funding will be assessed before progressing with the additional six years.

On Tuesday, Hymas, a senior member of the Green minority administration established following the local elections on 7th May, blamed a context of “rising poverty, inequality and policy failures of successive governments to tackle spiralling housing costs”.

The cabinet member argued that this, alongside failures to provide the level of social housing needed, has directly contributed to rising numbers of residents struggling with mental health conditions in Haringey and beyond.

A council report published ahead of the meeting explained the decision, saying that “ending homelessness is central to the mission” of the recently elected Green administration.

More specifically, it explained more than one in 10 people in Haringey have been diagnosed with depression. It also referenced how 1.4% of people in borough have a serious mental illness -a figure higher than both the London and national averages.

The cabinet report argued that the council’s homelessness initiatives are having a “transformational impact, in spite of these challenges”.

Those initiatives include a “first-rate” homelessness hub at Mulberry Junction “complemented by a thriving community of voluntary groups, which has made important progress in tackling rough sleeping”.

The report stated: “Housing-related supported accommodation is part of how we support many local people on a journey to stability and independence.

“Alongside social housing, this provides care and support for residents with complex needs – especially mental health conditions.

“We now want to build on local services that have a great track record, supporting more residents to live fuller and more independent lives.”

Speaking on Tuesday, Hymas added: “I think this model will allow us to deliver high-quality and stable accommodation, while reducing expenditure and continuing on that journey to ending rough sleeping within our administration.”

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