Katie Dalton looks forward to a busy start to 2017.
At the time of writing I am a couple of months into my new role as interim director of Cymorth Cymru. I already have a lot to reflect on and even more to look forward to in 2017.
This year will be an important one for Wales, as the new Welsh Government begins to deliver its Programme for Government, Welsh legislation continues to drive the prevention agenda and further devolution, welfare reforms and Brexit loom on the horizon.
All of this will have an impact on the housing sector, with the financial climate, welfare reform and the focus on prevention posing immediate risks and opportunities.
The Supporting People programme fits neatly into the prevention agenda: preventing homelessness, domestic abuse, interaction with the criminal justice system, and the need for acute health and social care services. Research has shown that investing in the programme delivers savings to the public purse, and the recent SAIL data linkage work indicates that it leads to a reduction in the use of GP and Accident and Emergency services.
I’ve been making these arguments for the past few years in my previous role with a support provider and it was great to see Cymorth Cymru and Community Housing Cymru campaigning in partnership again to protect the budget. The two teams ran another excellent campaign which energised members and informed Assembly Members about the important role that Supporting People makes to the most vulnerable people in their constituencies. On October 18 we welcomed the Welsh Government’s draft budget, which protected Supporting People funding in cash terms.
As well as campaigning on behalf of the sector, we continued our events programme, holding our Homeless Symposium in October. This event kept our members up to speed on policy developments, as well as giving them a platform to share their excellent work and learn from best practice. Our Promoting Independence Awards took place in December, recognising and celebrating the fantastic work that has taken place in Wales this year. The awards recognised services that promote independence, prevent homelessness and transform people’s lives, as well as individual contributions and achievements by staff members and service users.
During the last few weeks of 2016 we were extremely busy representing our members to the Welsh Government in relation to issues arising from the Housing (Wales) Act. We’ve been listening hard to member organisations, making robust representations and having positive discussions with the Welsh Government – demonstrating the value of a collective voice for support providers in Wales.
We’ve also appeared on ITV Wales Newsweek to discuss the impact of the bedroom tax on vulnerable people and on BBC Radio Wales to discuss homelessness among the prisoner population. The latter was part of BBC Wales’ homelessness week, which featured several of our members and the brilliant services they deliver across Wales.
It has been a busy end to the year and we’ve got lots of plans for 2017. I’m keen to meet more of our members and further understand the issues that are important to them. I’m also looking forward to meeting people who use Supporting People services and hearing about their experiences.
Cymorth has a number of pertinent events coming up in the first few months of 2017. In January we are holding a briefing session on the Supported Accommodation Review, an issue of upmost importance to the sector and likely to have a substantial impact on supported accommodation in the future.
In February we are holding an event focused on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), an issue that the Cabinet Secretary for Communities has placed at the heart of his new portfolio. We know that support providers play a crucial role in both the prevention of ACEs and supporting people who have already had ACEs. This event will feature research on this issue, showcase good practice from within our sector and encourage support providers to highlight and develop their contribution to this important agenda.
In March we’ll be holding our Care Provider Summit, organised in partnership with Care Forum Wales, and our Annual Conference. These events will bring together colleagues from across the sector for a series of discussions and workshops that showcase great work, provoke debate and support members to continue delivering excellent services to vulnerable people. I look forward to meeting lots more of our members and partners at this events.
In 2017 we will also publish a report about the health needs of homeless people, based on an audit we conducted in 2016. The research highlights the high proportion of homeless people with health needs and the barriers they face to getting the help they need. We have since held an expert roundtable with senior representatives from the NHS, Public Health Wales, housing associations, homelessness organisations and the Welsh Government. We look forward to publishing the report, including a series of recommendations, and taking this work forward in 2017.
Katie Dalton is interim director of Cymorth Cymru. www.cymorthcymru.org.uk