The Policy and Representation Partnership is led by Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East(VONNE) and funded by the Big Lottery. The Partnership aims to help the voluntary and communitysector (VCS) increase its influence on public policy through quarterly policy forum events, trainingsessions, researching policy areas and sharing information. In July 2011, the Partnershipcommissioned the Cyrenians and Northumbria University to undertake a project, entitled ‘Meeting theHousing-Related Support Needs of Homeless People in the North East, to help increase the VCS’sinfluence on policy and practice in relation to ‘homelessness’. The project aimed to:- Improve the sector’s awareness of the national and local picture of homelessness.- Identify the impacts of public sector funding cuts on the capacity of local authorities (LAs) and VCSorganisations in the North East to meet the needs of homeless people.- Provide an opportunity for stakeholders to think collectively about how to continue to meet needsat a time of new challenges and opportunities, through critical discussion and the sharing of goodpractice.To achieve this, the project team undertook a review of national and local policy documents andresearch reports; interviews with strategic leads and service commissioners in eight LAs across theNorth East; developed a survey which was completed by 35 VCS organisations; and ran two regionalworkshops, attended by approximately 80 individuals from across the North East.In order to incorporate the views of service users into the project, Northumbria University undertook arelated piece of research, which – using the Cyrenians as a case study – aimed to assess the value ofhousing-related support services and identity ‘what works’ in supporting service users to achieveindependence. The team analysed 238 short-term client outcomes records, completed 19 interviewswith staff and service users and calculated the ‘social return on investment’ of services.The following report summarises the key findings and policy messages emerging from both pieces ofwork
