As part of Safeguarding Adults Week, the Entrenched Rough Sleeper Social Work Team (ERST) from Manchester Local Care Organisation presented at the two day national online events hosted by the Ministry of Housing on Thursday 14 and Tuesday 19 November 2024.

Hosted by Rushanara Ali MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Democracy, with the Department of Health and Social Care, the events attracted nearly 1,000 attendees to discuss good practice in “Working Across Housing, Social Care, and Safeguarding for People Experiencing Long-Term Rough Sleeping.”

This is a crucial topic as we approach the winter months, when the risks to people sleeping rough increase, especially for those with long-term homelessness and health conditions.

Ellie Atkins, ERST Manager and Safeguarding Lead, shared insights into how our specialist Social Work team are working with people experiencing multi-exclusion homelessness in Manchester, as a system/partner wide response.

Ellie leads a team of five specialist trauma informed social workers, all dedicated to putting the person at the heart of what we do. She explained that the specialist homelessness social work role in adult safeguarding helps deliver better outcomes and improved lives for the people of Manchester.

Ellie also highlighted a series of videos for participants to learn more about rough sleeping, particularly focusing on the importance of executive functioning in supporting those affected.

Our team’s approach is built on collaboration, notably through the weekly Homelessness Partnership meeting. Here, professionals come together to pool their resources and expertise, ensuring a coordinated, person-centred, team around the person approach. This model has led to a significant impact: Care Act assessments increased from 4% to 91% in the past year, and we’ve seen an 85% rise in individuals under Adult Safeguarding (section 42 of the Care Act).

Ellie stressed that our work is driven by the lived experiences of those we support, ensuring that we provide solutions that are tailored to individual needs.

The event also featured research from the NIHR Policy Research in Health and Social Care Workforce Unit on strengthening safeguarding responses to homelessness.

These events play a vital role in advancing the Government’s development of a cross-government strategy to address homelessness and rough sleeping. The collaborative efforts and insights shared will help shape long-term, sustainable solutions for ending homelessness.