Emmaus UK, funded under the Foundation's national influencing programme, is working with people with lived experience of supported housing to help shape the new Supported Housing Act.
13 March 2025
Sam Dalton, Policy, Campaigns and External Affairs Manager and Martin Burrows, Impact and Evaluation Manager at Emmaus share their plans for the project and progress so far.
The new Supported Housing Act, which is soon to be implemented by the Government, will have far-reaching implications for supported housing providers and people living in supported housing across the country.
The Act will establish new national standards and licensing regimes for providing supported housing for people who have experienced homelessness, older people, people with long-term physical or mental health conditions, or people with other support requirements.
At Emmaus, we provide supported housing (including on-site work opportunities and social support) to people who have experienced homelessness – with more than 1,300 people benefiting from staying in one of our communities over the last year.
We want to ensure that the new Act takes into account the lived experiences and priorities of people living in supported housing so it can meet their needs, as well as recognising the day-to-day working of small supported housing providers. Our influencing project, funded by Lloyds Bank Foundation, aims to gather the views and experiences of those with lived experience and providers to shape this major piece of government legislation.
It’s important for Emmaus UK to use the voices of people with lived experience in shaping the Supported Housing Act because those who have directly faced homelessness or housing insecurity have valuable insights into the challenges and needs that policies must address. Their experiences bring authenticity and real-world understanding, helping to create solutions that are practical, effective, and truly supportive.
Emma, an Emmaus resident playing a leading role in the research
It’s also important the Government hears from small supported housing providers already delivering to a high standard, so the right balance can be struck in clamping down on rogue, poor-quality landlords on the one hand, and supporting good-quality providers on the other.
Achieving this is a big part of why Emmaus resident, David, is taking part in the research: “I got involved with the project so that in the future we as people won't have to deal with rogue landlords who put profit above people’s health and wellbeing,” he says.
The findings from our research will be submitted to government consultations and published in a report of our own. The aim, ultimately, is to shape the implementation of the Supported Housing Act at the national level through the standards and licensing regime adopted, and in the local supported housing strategies that each authority will be required to develop. In addition, we want our findings to help inform the practice of other supported housing providers.
The way we are doing our research is peer-led, with a group of Emmaus ‘companions’ (our term for residents) being trained in research methods and going out into other Emmaus communities and supported housing settings, to conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups. We hope that having people with lived experience carrying out the research will lead toa greater level of trust and common understanding throughout the research process, resulting in more open, honest answers, and stronger findings.
Lived experience is at the heart of the strategy of the project, as well as our research. We have created an Advisory Group to help direct the project at key intervals, made up of staff and companions from different Emmaus communities. When we communicate our research findings, we plan to involve those with lived experience as much as possible – whether contributing to the writing of our final report, taking the lead on podcast episodes or blogs, or speaking at events and meetings.
In February, the Government announced its plans to move forward with the implementation of the Act, following a period of delay after the General Election. Initial plans for the new national standards, licensing arrangements, and other aspects of the Act have been laid out in a first public consultation.
Emmaus will be conducting a set of focus groups and gathering views through a short survey, as part of our research specifically geared around the consultation questions. Prior to this, we had made significant strides in our project, running six focus groups with Emmaus residents, and six meetings with local Emmaus staff in different parts of the country, to hear their views on supported housing, and opportunities and concerns about the Act.
We have built strong relationships with other organisations including Crisis, Homeless Link, Rethink Mental Illness and others, and established regular dialogue with government officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to get input into our research plan.
And we have worked closely with MPs including the Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ending Homelessness – Paula Barker MP, who gave a keynote speech at our National Assembly in October, and Bob Blackman MP, the original author of the Supported Housing Act. Up to this point we have largely been using these relationships to advocate for swifter progress in the Act’s implementation, but now that the Government is taking steps, our attention is on shaping the Act in the right way.
Emmaus Companions (people with lived experience of supported housing) taking part in a policy discussion with Paula Barker MP
Paula Barker MP speaking with some Emmaus Companions and Emmaus' Chief Executive, Charlotte Talbott.
Over the coming weeks and months, our Companion Researchers will be out and about visiting different locations and gathering evidence on what others with lived experience think about supported housing. Combined with insights gained from other supported housing providers and sector experts, this will help shape our response to the first government consultation, and our report published later this year. It is a crucial time for supported housing and those who live in it, and we will make the most of this opportunity to give those with lived experience a real say.
Find out more about Emmaus' work by visiting their website: emmaus.org.uk
