Community Solutions to Housing & Homelessness

Funded by the Oak Foundation

This Social Innovation and Community Voice programme aims to address the root causes of Housing and Homelessness

By fostering collaboration between statutory, community and voluntary organisations
By supporting the design and development of new solutions to addressing the issue, based on values of lived experience and innovation
By influencing decision making
By enhancing knowledge and skills in creative problem solving and person centered design thinking

The Community Solutions to Housing and Homelessness programme commenced in 2021. The programme funded by the Oak Foundation, aims to prevent and address the issue of Housing and Homelessness in Northern Ireland by supporting projects which address the root causes of Homelessness and amplifies the voice of lived experience.

To date, the programme has supported 15 projects with an investment of £360k addressing a wide range of issues such as violence against women and girls, refugee and asylum seekers, mental health and complex needs, early intervention & emergency accommodation.

Pre-grant support was available to those who participated in the Foundation’s Innovation programme, which supported collaborative project teams with the time, space, tools and resources to explore the issue further and inform the design and development of their idea. The Innovation programme is supported by WorkWest Design thinking innovation programme.

The Innovation and Voice programme is a Participatory Budgeting programme, with the voice of lived experience have been at the forefront of the programme, including the allocation of resources, and in July 2023, supported by PB works Northern Ireland, the Community Solutions to Housing and Homelessness programme became the Largest Participatory Budgeting initiative addressing a single issue, across Northern Ireland, with the allocation of £160k being allocated by Experts By Experience.

The programme is managed and steered by a Programme steering group, which comprises of Experts by Experience, a panel of people who have professional and personal expertise in Housing and Homelessness. This includes representatives from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Simon Community, DePaul NI, Homelessness Connect and Champions for Change team, a team of lived experience champions.