We’ve stepped up our policy, campaigns, and research work at Emmaus UK to increase understanding about what we do and to encourage others to take action on homelessness.
Working closely with Emmaus communities across the country, as well as other charities and organisations, we want to influence change at the national and local level to end homelessness.
Hundreds of thousands of people are without a place to call home today. That’s why there has never been a more important time to fight for the change that is desperately needed.
The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act was passed by the Government in August 2023 with the aim of introducing national standards and a licensing regime for all supported exempt accommodation.
This legislation covers our model for housing people with experience of homelessness.
We are undertaking a large-scale project to help shape the implementation of the Act, working closely with Emmaus communities, other providers, and people with lived experience.
Initially, we are holding a series of focus groups with Emmaus companions and discussions with Emmaus communities. These sessions will inform our submission to the Government’s first consultation on the Act, expected soon.
Following this, we will undertake in-depth participatory research, forming and facilitating a steering group including people with lived experience, and an alliance of small, high-quality providers, to help shape the rest of the Act’s implementation. We also plan to produce a podcast and blogs to share our findings along the way.
We are joining forces with other charities to campaign around some of the biggest issues impacting on homelessness today. These include:
In 2024, we released a manifesto which calls for urgent action on homelessness.
Our six demands are simple; action on supported housing; create more social housing; take a cross-government approach; invest in tackling homelessness for the long term; on the ground consultation to empower people with lived experience and local organisations with expert knowledge; no-one criminalised for being homeless.
We are now working hard to make these calls a reality in this new Parliament.
We campaigned against the previous government’s Criminal Justice Bill, which would have allowed police to fine or arrest rough sleepers for being a ‘nuisance’. Together with Crisis and 35 other organisations, we wrote to the Home Secretary in April 2024 calling for a re-think of the Bill.
While we were pleased the Bill did not progress following the calling of the General Election, we are now calling for the outdated Vagrancy Act to be scrapped, which continues to criminalise homelessness.
Following revelations that 80,000 people have been put at risk of homelessness since the last government said it would be scrapping Section 21s, we’re calling for an end to no-fault evictions for good. We were pleased to see this included in the King’s Speech following the July 2024 election.
Emmaus has conducted research in recent years to show the positive impact that our communities have, both for individuals, and society at large. Research projects in have included:
If you’d like to know more about our research, policy and campaigns work, or would like to get involved, we would be delighted to hear from you.
For policy and campaigns, please get in touch with Sam Dalton, Emmaus UK’s Policy, Campaigns and External Affairs Manager, via [email protected].
If you’d like to discuss our research projects in greater depth, then please reach out to Emmaus UK’s Impact and Evaluation Manager, Martin Burrows, via [email protected].