Opening Doors: An evaluation of the London Borough of Newham's Housing First Pilot Project

LSE Housing and Communities, Laura Lane, Anne Power and Bert Provan

Published 5 February 2021

In 2018, the London Borough of Newham (LBN) commissioned LSE Housing and Communities to undertake an evaluation of their "Housing First" pilot project. The main objectives for the evaluation were: 1. To understand the prior experiences and pathways of the Housing First target group in sleeping rough in Newham; 2. To understand the effectiveness of the intervention in terms of: a. Promoting long term housing sustainment; b. Enhancing health and wellbeing of service users; c. Improving social integration of service users and 3. To assess the cost of the intervention and its benefits.

The pilot project was set up in April 2018 to work with 12 entrenched rough sleepers with a verified local connection and with high level complex needs that were unmet by existing provision. The pilot project aimed to help rough sleepers off the streets and into self-contained, independent accommodation, with full wraparound support provided. The Housing First pilot project in LBN is delivered by Single Homelessness Project (SHP). This report sets out our research and evaluation of this Housing First project in LBN. It explains the origins and aims of Housing First in the wider context of homelessness and rough sleeping in Newham and in England.