05. Depaul UK’s Organisational Strategy 2021-2026 2021 marks the first year of Depaul’s organisational strategy “End Homelessness for Good - The Depaul Way” which will provide the direction until 2026. Depaul will not reinvent the wheel, as their overarching approach and priorities led by their Vincentian values, have been proven to address effectively what the people they work for need to lead better, healthier and more independent lives. However, there are some persisting and some new challenges to which Depaul needs to respond: 1.
There is a great and increasing need for provision of services and support for families and individuals who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or experiencing the effects of being homeless in the UK. Depaul believes that, in particular, the social and economic implications of the Covid-19 pandemic will be felt for years to come and will increase inequalities. High levels of unemployment, record numbers of people accessing Universal Credit and a great strain being placed on households and (family) relationships are likely to result in a spike in the number of people across the country experiencing homelessness. Hence, they expect to see significant homelessness in all its forms over the next decade.
6 DEPAUL UK | Appointment Brief
2.
Homelessness is a complex and evolving problem. Tackling it requires dynamic and innovative solutions that start with individual needs as opposed to providing one-dimensional blanket solutions Homelessness is a complicated issue and the faces of homelessness change continuously. The overall response in the UK, however, does not adequately reflect this. Programmes for housing and support, innovation and prevention constantly address the problems of individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. They solve homelessness one person at a time and do so through approaches that meet the needs of defined groups. These solutions, and their continuous refinements, need to be based on evidence such as data that allows us to understand the causal relationship between inputs and outcomes. There is currently a great deal of information and data collected on individuals in some parts of the system, and little collected on others. Evaluation of the data is generally weak, making it difficult to find out the impact of work. The collection and effective evaluation of relevant data is crucial to being able to design and develop effective responses.
