Much of the public discussion about responses to homelessness focuses on emergency interventions once people are already experiencing a housing crisis. 

A big proportion of the services provided by the homelessness sector similarly target support for people at the point when they are experiencing homelessness.

And yet, as cost of living pressures from a long period of high inflation take their toll on people with low incomes or who face transition points or crises in their lives, growing numbers enter into homelessness.

To end homelessness for good we will need to deal with both of these challenges: support people who are already experiencing homelessness and address the ‘flow’ of new people into homelessness. It is for this reason that work to prevent homelessness, as well as to respond to homelessness once it happens, is so important.

This is why we are pleased to be supporting the introduction of a new homelessness prevention programme in England led by volunteers who support people at risk or with a history of rough sleeping to find or sustain a tenancy.

The Citadel model was developed in Wales by Housing Justice Cymru, a charity that works in partnership with voluntary, community and faith groups to help provide a safe and stable home to people experiencing and at risk of homelessness. It recruits, trains and supports volunteers who are then matched with a person referred to the project by local authorities in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Wrexham. 

Volunteers work with each person to identify support options together. This might, for instance, be finding accommodation, decorating a home or getting furniture and household items, emotional support, practical help with budgeting or building connections with their local community, whatever matters most to the person. By doing so, it aims to reduce isolation and loneliness and improve individuals’ sense of belonging and support networks.  

We are working with Housing Justice to introduce its Citadel model in areas of England as part of a Test and Learn programme to test ways to reduce homelessness and end rough sleeping, which is funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Its funding will support the introduction of the programme England and an evaluation of its effectiveness. 

Introducing a new programme to areas where it has not previously operated creates an opportunity to design a robust, independent evaluation from the outset. By doing so we will expand the evidence base of what does - or does not - work to address rough sleeping and other forms of homelessness.

A particular feature of interest with the Citadel model is the fact that it is led by volunteers: if the evaluation were to find clear evidence of positive impact, this means that the model could be expanded and thereby reduce the pressure on statutory and commissioned homelessness services.

The evaluation will be a randomised controlled trial, which is regarded as the most robust research method for establishing a cause and effect relationship between an intervention and an outcome.  

We invited local authorities interested in taking part in delivering this new model of volunteer-led support in the area to make a formal application. Bids were then assessed by our grant and evaluation committee, which chose five local areas that will participate. These are Cornwall Council, Hastings Borough Council, Bristol City Council, Sheffield City Council and the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south east London. Participating local authorities will work in partnership with local charities and other agencies proposed by them as part of their application.

These local areas will, over a period of 18 months, refer around 580 people to the service. Half of the people referred will be chosen at random to receive support from Citadel volunteers who will be recruited, trained and supervised by Housing Justice. The trial will run from September 2024 to April 2026.

The evaluation, which will be carried out by IPSOS with IFF Research as a data collection partner, will compare outcomes such as housing stability and wellbeing among people who received support from Citadel volunteers with others who did not. 

The results, which we expect to receive at the end of 2026, will be published in full. 

We will provide regular progress updates at regular intervals, including introductions to people involved in running the project, some of the participants and information on the different areas in which it is operating. We hope we will also be able to provide insights into the practicalities of running a randomised controlled trial of a homelessness intervention, which is still comparatively rare in the United Kingdom. 

To receive updates on the progress of this project, please register here.

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Rebecca Jackson is Programmes Lead at the Centre for Homelessness Impact

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