Tai Pawb Launches ‘Ready for Housing’ Framework
Tai Pawb Launches Ready for Housing Framework and Evaluation Paper on Comic Relief Funded Project
In 2021, Tai Pawb embarked on a project to raise awareness among housing providers, build the capacity of refugee organisations in housing support, and increase the availability of housing for refugees and asylum seekers asked to leave Home Office accommodation. This project is part of a larger multi-stranded project supported by Comic Relief’s Change-makers Fund in collaboration with Housing Justice Cymru, and the Welsh Refugee Council.
The urgency of the housing situation for sanctuary-seekers is exacerbated by conflict situations abroad and the UK government’s asylum processing backlog, leading to homelessness among those granted or refused refugee status.
Refugees, caught in the wider housing crisis, encounter difficulties in finding housing due to lack of deposits, guarantor contacts, delays in accessing Universal Credit, and challenges in seeking help from Local Authorities with lengthy waiting lists. The situation is even more precarious for refused asylum-seekers, whose limited options contribute to heightened vulnerability.
Our initial focus was on designing and piloting a supported accommodation model managed by refugee organisations. While facing challenges in securing additional accommodation spaces, Tai Pawb concentrated on capacity-building for housing advice and support within organisations like Oasis Cardiff Refugee Centre, Home4U, and Hoops and Loops.
Alongside partners in the Housing of Nation of Sanctuary Consortium, and supported by Comic Relief, we worked tirelessly to address these challenges. The mid-term evaluation, presented in the Evaluation Paper, delivered by Dr Anna Lindley of SOAS, University of London, reflects on the capacity-building dimension of the project, analysing challenges and successes to inform plans for the final year.
Today we are proud to launch the 2023 Tai Pawb EVALUATION REPORT updated for publication alongside Tai Pawb’s Tai Pawb Ready for Housing Framework 30.11.23: a resource designed for Refugee Community Organisations that are considering providing housing for refugees and/or people seeking asylum. This framework is tailored for organisations that are in the early stages of their journey in setting up a housing scheme.
The framework is a direct response to the identified needs, aiming to expand accommodation options for refugees and asylum-seekers. Informed by our work alongside Refugee Community Organisations and the 2019 Tai Pawb Refugee Accommodation Feasibility Study, which emphasised supporting Refugee Community Organisations to provide safe and sustainable housing solutions, the framework is driven by three crucial considerations:
- Innovative Housing Solutions: Research alongside NACCOM highlighted various housing options, including gift/loan properties, private rented sector leases, housing association provision/partnerships, and local council partnerships.
- Integration of Support Services: Recognising the importance of integrating housing provision with financial assistance, legal and non-legal casework, and support with accessing employment for those with recourse to public funds.
- Effective Partnerships: Acknowledging the challenges posed by austerity, rising living costs, and evolving immigration policies, the framework emphasises the importance of effective partnerships to overcome these challenges.
The Ready for Housing Framework provides an action plan loaded with prerequisites and best practices across governance, support, and partnerships essential for building capacity to manage supported accommodation. Tai Pawb’s collaboration with Oasis Cardiff, played a pivotal role in the framework’s development.
Tai Pawb would like to say thank you for the support received from NACCOM, a UK charity supporting accommodation solutions for people seeking asylum and migrants. The Housing Toolkit and Working with Housing Associations Toolkit as well as comments and review of the framework from NACCOM significantly contributed to the final version of the framework.
This framework could not be more timely, asylum dispersal in the Wales is no longer limited to Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham, and now covers all 22 local authorities. As we see refugee and asylum seeker numbers grow in new and different places around Wales we hope that this framework can support new and established refugee community organisations to provide essential integration and housing support.