Agenda item

The Director of Community and Children’s Services to be heard.

The Sub-Committee heard a presentation of the Director of Research and Campaigns, Research Project Worker and Independent Researcher of Groundswell which had been commissioned to undertake City Voices research and the following points were made:

·         Groundswell worked with people with experience of homelessness, offering opportunities to contribute to society and create solutions to homelessness.  In August 2020, the City of London Corporation approached Groundswell to undertake City Voices research which aimed to capture learning from work to move people away from the streets at the start of the COVID-19 period and hear directly from individuals who were rough sleeping during this time.  It was anticipated that the City Voices work would inform future service design and act as a springboard for ongoing client involvement and co-production of services. 

·         The City Voices research project focused on the experience of individuals in coming in from the streets, staying in short-term accommodation and moving into longer-term accommodation.  Nineteen phone and face-to-face interviews had been completed with clients, as well as nine interviews with staff and an outreach shift with rough sleeping individuals.  The research had identified a number of push and pull factors to entering short-term accommodation including fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, quality and location of short-term accommodation, and rapid scripting.  These learning points had been used to create a series of recommendations including the need for a trauma-informed approach to commissioning and service delivery, a health-led and gender-informed model and recruitment of support workers or managers with lived in experience of homelessness. 

·         In response to a question from a Committee Member, the Independent Researcher advised that key areas of new learning arising from the City Voices research included the role of rapid scripting and an immediate health first offer in encouraging individuals to engage with services.  The location of Carter Lane hostel had been a major factor in encouraging individuals to move into short-term accommodation as it enabled them to remain within their local community.  The Rough Sleeping Service Manager confirmed that the final report of the City Voices research would form the basis of an action plan which would be used as a springboard to develop innovative approaches to future service delivery.  The Director of Research and Campaigns further emphasised the value of incorporating the voice of the service users in future decision making and commissioning of services and follow-up workshops would be arranged to consider how this could be put into practice.

The Chairman thanked the Director of Research and Campaigns, Research Project Worker and Independent Researcher of Groundswell for their excellent presentation and requested that Groundswell attend the Sub-Committee’s upcoming Away Day to provide an update on its City Voices research. 

RESOLVED, that the presentation be noted.