Homelessness Minister visits Look Ahead’s Gateway Service ahead of Supported Housing Week

Accompanied by the NHF’s Chief Executive, Kate Henderson, Ms Eshalomi toured the service, which provides temporary accommodation for people facing homelessness, in partnership with the City of Westminster, as well as specialist supported housing services for people with complex mental health needs.

During her tour of the service, the Minister met Look Ahead staff and enjoyed a breakfast meeting with current and former customers who told her about their experiences and how Look Ahead has supported them towards moving on and living more independently.

She heard more from staff about how Gateway is a positive example of how housing associations can adapt existing buildings and work together with local authorities to make better use of housing assets to meet changing demand, and in turn, ease pressure on public services and create better outcomes for individuals.

Senior staff also highlighted to Ms Eshalomi that a significant amount of Look Ahead’s existing homelessness provision is built around the same principles that underpin the Government’s present Everyone In approach, namely, helping people off the streets quickly, providing stable accommodation, ensuring that support is available alongside housing and facilitating sustainable move-on.

We would like to thank both Ms Eshalomi, her team and our colleagues from the National Housing Federation for joining us and look forward to continuing to advocate for the supported housing sector and its many benefits both for individuals and public services going forward.