People’s Health Trust announces £1 million programme supporting ten projects across England, Scotland and Wales.
Today, 16 November, People’s Health Trust announces the launch of its Homes for Health programme supporting ten projects across Great Britain to improve ill health caused by unsuitable housing conditions.
Homes for Health will be supported through one million pounds of People’s Health Trust resources, including almost £600,000 in grant funding which will be spread across ten projects. The programme is a collaboration between the Trust and experts from housing, community, and racial justice charities, delivering projects that respond to the growing problem of unfit private and social rented homes and their effects on tenants’ physical and mental health.
The programme aims to connect the issues of housing and health in communities across England, Scotland and Wales and comes at an important time for tenants, as the Renters (Reform) Bill passes to committee stage.
Having a safe, secure and comfortable home is a critical building block of health, but it is not available to everyone. People on low-incomes, disabled people, and people from communities experiencing racial inequity are disproportionately affected by poor-quality homes, which further entrenches health inequalities. In 2021, 14 per cent of privately rented homes and four per cent of social rented homes in England contained a category one hazard, for example severe damp and mould and excess cold. 32 per cent of households in Wales lived in homes with a hazard in 2020 and in Scotland in 2019, 30 per cent of private rented homes and 20 per cent of social rented homes had urgent disrepair to one or more critical elements.
Speaking on the launch of Homes for Health, People’s Health Trust’s Chief Executive, John Hume, said:
"Too many private rented and social housing homes in Great Britain are not fit for purpose, with widespread damp, mould and other serious hazards which harm the health of millions of tenants. Some of the most marginalised members of our communities are subjected to health-altering conditions, over which they have little or no control. Our investment in Homes for Health seeks to demonstrate how local communities can work together with housing and health partners to create positive change to improve living conditions and, ultimately, their health and wellbeing.”
The organisations receiving funding through Homes for Health are housing specialists ACORN and Living Rent; community organisers Citizens UK; local community charities Community Renewal Trust and Edberts House; and community organisations addressing racial justice, Caribbean & African Health Network and Leeds Muslim Youth Forum.
We are delighted to be involved with the Homes for Health programme. We work in a community in Govanhill, Glasgow with a high number of families, especially migrants, living in unsuitable damp, poorly insulated and overcrowded tenement housing. Every year we meet hundreds of vulnerable people whose health is directly affected, but we can offer limited options to address the systemic issues of housing. Collaborating with local partners, we are hoping to explore new community-led ways to address this through collective social action. We are sure that over time, we can make an impact on the physical and mental health of local residents, with a particular focus on Govanhill’s Roma.”
John Halliday
Chief Executive, Community Renewal
