VOLUNTEERS are being sought by a Christian homelessness charity to expand a new project to more areas of the UK.

Housing Justice has run a scheme, Citadel, across Wales since 2020, and last week announced that it was expanding the project to Bristol, Cornwall, south-east London, Hastings, and Sheffield.

Citadel matches volunteers with people at risk of becoming homeless, to provide personalised support with such matters as budgeting, sourcing household items, or finding a new home when being evicted.

Volunteers might also be involved in providing emotional support, and helping people to engage with their local community.

Testimonies on Housing Justice’s website suggest that the individualised support, sustained over a period of time, is valued by people at risk of homelessness. The charity focuses on preventing homelessness, and refers to statistics that suggest that those referred to the project sustain their tenancies for at least a year afterwards.

A report from the National Audit Office (NAO), published on 23 July, concluded that homelessness was increasing, and that short-term relief efforts — such as providing emergency housing — were economically unsustainable.

Local authorities spent £1.6 billion on temporary accommodation in 2022-23, amounting to about two-thirds of the total spent on homelessness services. Councils have a statutory duty to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness, as well as to provide temporary accommodation when it occurs.

“Funding remains fragmented and generally short-term, inhibiting homelessness prevention work and limiting investment in good-quality temporary accommodation or other forms of housing,” the NAO report concluded.

The report recommended that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (which has now been renamed the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) reconsider funding streams for local authorities and conduct further analysis on repeat homelessness.

The head of Citadel England, George Butler, said last week: “Homelessness is much more than just the absence of a home. People who experience homelessness also experience multiple forms of exclusion.

“Citadel seeks to redress the balance, bringing the community together to support people not just to have a roof over their head, but to have a place to belong and to thrive.”

He invited anyone interested in volunteering to contact Housing Justice by email at: citadelteam@housingjustice.org.uk