With homelessness in the UK continuing to rise, and in 2024, over 350,000 people were estimated to have experienced homelessness, up a shocking 14% on the previous year (1), the UK is experiencing a homelessness health emergency. The health system is failing people affected by homelessness, with people experiencing homelessness seeing some of the poorest health outcomes, and access to healthcare being among the worst.
Groundswell have been given a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund’s Reaching Communities programme to address these needs. This grant will fund our work across England to prevent and reduce homeless health inequalities.
Over three years, this funding will allow Groundswell to:
- Deliver more life-saving frontline work.
- Co-produce a series of campaigns across England that aim to influence policy change on the key issues for our community.
- Deliver specialist training for mainstream health services working with homeless patients
- Expand our support offer to enable more of our community to fulfil their potential and progress out of homelessness.
Groundswell will harness the skills and power of the community of people affected by homelessness, helping individuals to live healthier lives while also tackling the root systemic causes of health inequality. Groundswell know what the solutions are – with 67% of our staff and volunteers having lived experience of homelessness, the evidence of what may make a real impact comes directly from the community we serve.
This crucial funding will enable Groundswell to bring about three significant changes:
- Preventing death and serious illness for people affected by homelessness, ensuring people can live healthier lives.
- Reducing inequalities and discrimination in the health system, which will be better informed by and connected to the voices and priorities of people affected by homelessness.
- Strengthening the community of people affected by homelessness who can co-produce and lead positive action and progress their own lives.
Groundswell CEO, Michael Chandler, says: “We are enormously grateful to the National Lottery Reaching Communities fund for supporting this vital project which will change and save lives and systems – supporting people with lived experience to have stronger voices, highlight the issues and influence systemic change, leading to healthier lives and better futures for people experiencing homelessness across England. We at Groundswell know the solutions to issues around homelessness have to be informed by those who have been there, so we are pleased to see how the Lottery recognises this too, through their ‘It Starts With Community’ strategy, putting communities at the heart of change. Thanks again to the Lottery and its supporters.”
And David, a Homeless Health Peer Advocate at Groundswell explains, “Meeting people where they are, helping them get to and from health appointments can deliver good health outcomes in the long-term – we know this. But we also know the system is more complex than that. As we work with people navigating complex systems – health, homelessness, criminal justice – we are also advocating for their rights in a society and world that often denies them.”
Footnotes:
1 https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_release/at_least_354000_people_homeless_in_england_today_
