How are housing teams working with veterans?

Meri Mayhew has been part of the No Homeless Veterans team since the campaign’s first phase in 2019. Since then, she has trained and briefed people from well over a hundred local authorities, housing associations and supported housing providers – explaining why some veterans become homeless, why it’s important that veterans are properly identified, and how housing teams can ensure veterans receive the support they’re entitled to.

Having served in the RAF and then worked for many years within the Armed Forces charity sector, Meri has an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by people as they leave the Armed Forces and move back into civilian life, as well as the range of support, services and advice available to ensure that transition is as smooth and sustainable as possible.

Here, we talk to Meri about the campaign and the housing teams she has met.

What response have you had from the organisations you’ve trained as part of the No Homeless Veterans campaign?

I’ve been really impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment of those who have joined the training sessions, and the actions and support for veterans around housing being taken by their organisations. Having signed the Armed Forces Covenant they are keen to put this commitment into practice, recognising the unique disadvantages that can be faced by veterans, eg. the inability to establish a local area connection due to frequent moves during their Service career. This training helps staff put this commitment into practice.

While there was strong support for veterans among those we trained, we also heard about the issues and barriers they face in delivering this support.

We heard about the variety in support offered, sometimes due to the size of the Armed Forces community in their local area, but also due to the leadership and commitment of key people in their organisation.

Finally, the training was very timely given the introduction of the Covenant Duty in November 2022, and the need for particular organisations to show due regard for the Armed Forces community in their housing policies and services. This was also discussed during the training sessions.

It’s great that housing staff are keen to help veterans, but you mentioned issues and barriers that some face. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, we did hear about barriers that staff face in helping veterans. For example, a shortage of appropriate housing, in conjunction with the competing needs of others needing to access social housing.

A further barrier is that veterans are not always identified at the initial contact point, or where veterans are identified staff may not understand why veterans might face disadvantage. In both cases this results in appropriate policies and support not being applied to support the veteran. Knowing how busy housing teams are, we have created a range of templates, self-assessment forms and accessible toolkits containing recommendations and examples of good practice in order to help make identifying and supporting veterans as straightforward as possible.

Are there some common questions that have come up during the training?

Questions arose around the legislation for veterans and housing that can be complex and also varies across the UK. We have worked hard to provide all the necessary information on the legislation by Nation in an accessible way in the free resources available online to support this campaign and the training.

We have also provided practical examples of good practice, as people are keen to understand what is being done in other areas. It was fantastic to include Lisa Mcfadyen from Gateshead Council in the delivery of our training as she could not only talk about the support offered, but also how barriers were overcome and the important financial benefits of this service.

Have you been especially inspired by the work of any particular council or housing provider?

There are so many examples of good practice it’s hard to choose!! Gateshead Council offers a fantastic service, but there are many more examples in the toolkits from across England, Scotland and Wales.

What are your three top tips for housing staff wanting to do more to support veterans?

1. The most important action is to identify veterans at the initial point of contact so that all the appropriate policies and services can be offered to support that person, including potentially drawing on the fantastic additional support offered by the Armed Forces charity sector.
2. I would also advise having a nominated expert on veterans among the housing team, so that colleagues can take questions to them.
3. Collaboration – whether across local authorities or with Armed Forces charities operating locally – can be hugely beneficial in maximising the effectiveness of scare resources. There are examples of this in the toolkit.

Having now delivered all the live training sessions, are you optimistic that the campaign is making a difference?

Definitely! Though this work continues. While we know of fantastic support being offered by some, there are also local authorities and housing associations that we are unaware of. So we still need to work to ensure a consistent application of the Armed Forces Covenant obligations on housing across the UK.

As a closing point, we recorded an initial webinar and then the training sessions for England, Scotland and Wales so that people working in this area can benefit from accessing this free training when convenient for them.