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Housing Solutions: structure and responsibilities

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Housing Solutions: structure and responsibilities

Housing Solutions aims to prevent and tackle homelessness. Our services include:

  • statutory housing advice for those at risk of homelessness
  • commissioning of rough sleeping services and single adult hostels
  • floating support and refugee resettlement
  • support services at our in-house singles hostels and move-on support across the hostels pathway

What we do

Floating Support Service

We help vulnerable people and families in Camden stay in their homes. We also support people to move into and keep independent housing. This means we:

  • give early support to people at risk of losing their homes, including those in private, housing association or owned homes
  • help adults move from supported housing into independent living
  • help families in temporary housing move to stable homes
  • assess people’s needs and create clear, outcome-focused support plans
  • connect people with local and national services that can help
  • support Afghan refugees as they settle in Camden
  • find emergency and long-term homes for Ukrainian households
  • work with other services and partners on projects that prevent homelessness and support resettlement

Find out more about the Floating Support Service.

Single Pathway Service

We support adults with complex needs living in Camden hostels, including people who have been homeless and young adults leaving care. We help them move into and manage independent housing. This means we:

  • support people with issues like debt, mental health, substance use, domestic abuse, and offending
  • work with experts and partners across Camden to provide specialist help
  • help people access education, training, and jobs – and stay in them
  • use a person-centred keyworker model to help people build skills for independent living
  • support ex-offenders and people with long-term mental health needs
  • help people move on from supported housing into independent homes

Find out more about hostels for homeless single people with support needs.

Single Homelessness Strategic Commissioning

We commission accommodation and support services for single people with support needs including hostels, supported housing, or refuges.

We commission and coordinate services aimed at ending rough sleeping in Camden. These include our outreach team, off-the-streets accommodation services, and specialist support teams. This means we:

  • strategically plan the delivery of over 700 bedspaces and additional support services for single adults with support needs who are experiencing homelessness.
  • work with partners, stakeholders, and service users to ensure effective delivery of Adult Pathway services e.g. promoting multidisciplinary team working
  • commission and review contracted services to ensure they are needs-led and effective, including a Women’s Recovery Service for women with multiple disadvantage
  • manage commissioned contracts across the Pathway, providing a supportive framework and enabling providers to deliver excellent services.
  • host forums and spaces to facilitate collaboration with partners working cross the Pathway
  • procure services that are needed within public procurement rules and regulation
  • commission and coordinate several teams and projects that provide support and assistance to people who are rough sleeping. This includes jointly commissioning projects with neighbouring boroughs, undertaking street counts, and leading on responses in periods of extreme weather.
  • Connect Forward: a small and innovative team supporting rough sleepers without a local connection to Camden. The team co-designs sustainable housing solutions with service users, often advocating for them to access accommodation.
  • Housing First Coordination: a specialist service providing 30 tenancies to people with long histories of rough sleeping and multiple disadvantage
  • manage the council’s data and intelligence on rough sleeping and use this to inform best practice and new ways of working.
  • work closely with other services, such as Community Safety and Adult Social Care, to ensure the response to rough sleeping is joined up.
  • Work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to utilise grant funding. We use this to fund services and teams to work towards our strategic aim of making rough sleeping rare, brief and non-recurrent.

Homelessness Prevention team

We help people at risk of losing their homes or who are already homeless. We offer advice and early prevention of homelessness. This means we:

  • process statutory homelessness applications, assess residents’ situation and needs and develop personalised housing plans with residents facing homelessness
  • give clear advice about affordable housing options
  • support people facing homelessness, including those dealing with harassment, illegal evictions, or unsafe conditions
  • run an emergency service for vulnerable residents outside of office hours
  • support people leaving hospital, or prison without a home
  • work with private landlords to find safe and affordable homes
  • coordinate referrals and support people into supported housing

Find out more about homelessness prevention.

Team structure

View the Housing Solutions structure chart (PDF).

Text description of the structure chart

Simone Melia is the Head of Housing Solutions. Her direct reports are:

  • Single Pathway Service Manager
  • Floating Support Service Manager
  • Single Homelessness Strategic Commissioner
  • Homelessness Initiatives Service Manager

The Single Pathway Service Manager manages:

  • Pathway Referrals and Move On Manager
    • Mental Health Referrals Coordinator
    • 2 Pathway Moves On Advisors
    • Ex-Offender and Complex Needs Referral Coordinator
      • Homeless Prevention Advisor
    • Pathways Coordinator
  • 4 Team Managers
    • 23 Support Workers
  • ETE Coordinator

The Floating Support Service Manager manages:

  • Monitoring and Development Officer
  • 3 Team Managers
    • 24 Support Workers
  • Homes for Ukraine Manager
    • 5 Housing Options Advisors
    • 2 Tenancy Support Officers

The Single Homelessness Strategic Commissioner manages:

  • Connect Forward Team Leader
    • 2 Reconnections Officers
  • Routes off the Streets Coordinator
    • Lead Homelessness Prevention Advisor
  • Housing First Coordinator
  • Strategy and Commissioning Manager
    • 2 Commissioning Officers

The Homelessness Initiatives Service Manager manages:

  • 5 Homeless Prevention Managers
    • Hospital Discharge Officer (NHS)
    • DVA Case Coordinator
    • 26 Homelessness Prevention Advisors
    • 2 Tenancy Sustainment Officers
    • Customer Services Officer
  • Housing Need Improvement Manager
    • 2 Housing Needs Improvement Officer