Having a safe, secure and affordable home is one of the building blocks of health, but it is not available to everyone. Unequal access to affordable, secure and good quality homes means that, for many people, poor housing is a direct cause of short and long-term health issues. Too many people in England, Scotland and Wales are living in homes that are negatively impacting their health, particularly in the private and social rented sectors.
One in five private renters reported that their housing issues or worries made them physically sick. 39% have housing problems or worries that leave them feeling stressed and anxious.
About Homes for Health
Homes for Health, launched in November 2023, is a collaboration between the Trust and experts from housing, community, and racial justice civil society organisations, delivering projects that respond to the growing problem of unfit private and social rented homes and their effects on tenants’ physical and mental health. At the centre of the work are marginalised people whose intersecting identities make them more likely to experience poor mental and physical health caused by their sub-standard homes and insecure tenancies.
Homes for Health provides grant funding, resources and training, and facilitates a supportive network of peers to help to find practical, on-the-ground solutions, as well as encouraging action by decision-makers.
The programme looks at how poor health and wellbeing arising from housing conditions can be tackled through local action, and influencing decision-makers and landlords.
It will use a combination of community organising, collective action and campaigning to,
- Improve tenant knowledge on housing rights
- Increase tenant voice
- Improve housing conditions, standards and security which impact health.
We worked with people with first-hand experience of poor health related housing, academics and sector specialists in developing the programme. An independent advisory group will advise the programme throughout.
Ecorys UK are independently evaluating Homes for Health to formally measure the impact of the work. This will involve training and working with local community researchers.
Improved housing standards will go a long way towards improving the health and wellbeing of tenants who have carried the burden of the current housing and cost of living crises and face unequal and unsafe housing conditions."
Joe Kiggins
Development Officer at ACORN
Funding through Homes for Health
Through an investment of nearly £600, 000, we are funding ten projects across England, Scotland and Wales, working with the following organisations:
- ACORN (The Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now Ltd) – Working with social and private tenants living in Splott and Adamsdown, Cardiff, Knowle West, Bristol and the Holme Wood estate in Bradford. Read more about Holme Wood and Tatiana's story.
- Caribbean & African Health Network – Working with Black Caribbean and African private tenants in Gorton, Manchester. Read Augustina's story.
- Citizens UK – Working with social and private tenants living in Ely, Cardiff, with a particular focus on communities experiencing racial inequity. Read Helen's story.
- Community Renewal Trust – working with private and social tenants living in Govanhill, Glasgow, with a particular focus on the Roma community.
- Edberts House – working with private sector tenants living in Felling, Gateshead,
- Leeds Muslim Youth Forum – working with communities experiencing racial inequity, with a particular focus on young people living in rented accommodation in Harehills, Leeds.
- Living Rent – working with social tenants in Knightswood, Glasgow and in Lochend, Restalrig and Craigentinny, Edinburgh.
Organisations with a previous track record in housing and advocacy were invited to apply for the fund. The advisory group informed the final selection of funded projects.
Media coverage
Homes for Health and our funded partners have been covered in the following outlets.
- The Independent - covering our Time for Action campaign
- Manchester Evening News - with testimony from Augustina provided by Caribbean & African Health Network
- Yorkshire Post - covering our Time for Action campaign
- BBC News Online - with testimony from Tatiana, a member of ACORN's Bradford branch
- BBC News Online - with testimony and a spokesperson from Leeds Muslim Youth Forum
- BBC Look North and BBC Politics North - testimony from Tatiana from Acorn
Find out more
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