Summary of Meeting on 29 Januray 2026
Chaired by Dr Jessica Randall-Carrick
Medical Director Primary Care and System Improvement - NHS England – East of England
Focus: Improving support for people at the point they become homeless in Great Yarmouth, particularly young people and those leaving prison, and exploring short-term, compassionate responses alongside longer-term housing pathways.
Key themes
1. Early intervention
Strong concern expressed that people are slipping into street homelessness because support comes too late. Many sofa-surf initially; others spend nights on the streets. Once embedded in street homelessness, recovery becomes much harder. There was agreement on the need to “catch people early”.
2. Short-term safe spaces
Participants discussed models such as Bradford’s overnight church provision and Great Yarmouth’s former Living Room project. There is a clear gap for 1/2-night emergency provision with basic facilities (toilets, showers, warmth) and space for health and housing conversations.
3. Barriers to delivery
Although goodwill and volunteers exist, progress is blocked by funding, sustainability, legal responsibilities, health & safety, DBS processes, and organisational capacity. Churches and community venues have limits on what they can provide long-term.
4. Current provision and gaps
Around x regular street homeless in GY; some cannot cope in present housing system.
Existing schemes include Herring House, Right Path House, Brew Crew, Mandalay Wellbeing, and emerging women’s provision via Feathers Futures — but these are insufficient. (Massive shout to the Kingsgate Community who have been addressing this issue for years)
Mapping shows major gaps evenings, weekends, and after 4pm.
Out of area placements into GY (due to lower rents) are increasing pressure locally.
5. Engagement and advocacy
While housing routes exist via Novus House, many people struggle to engage or attend appointments. There was strong support for the idea of individual advocates to physically walk alongside people through triage and services.
6. Beyond housing
Homelessness is rarely just about accommodation. Complex medical, psychological, and social needs require coordinated, humane, and continuous care — especially once people are housed.
7. Coordination challenges
There is duplication across services and poor information sharing. Social prescribers and MDTs (multi-disciplinary teams) lack up-to-date, practical pathways. A call was made for homelessness to be a standing item on professional agendas and for better system-wide communication.
8. Volunteers and lived experience
Trusted community figures attract volunteers, but some cases are too complex for volunteers alone. Training, supervision, and support are essential. The Homelessness Prevention Board needs stronger lived-experience representation.
Ideas and actions raised
Explore temporary overnight provision (learning from Bradford and past local projects).
Identify spaces and resources for short-stay accommodation.
Develop advocate roles to support engagement with housing services.
Improve real-time information sharing across agencies.
Build on trusted community initiatives (e.g., Brew Crew, The Lived Experience Collective, Mandalay).
Strengthen links with NHS discharge pathways.
Support volunteers with training, DBS, and small funding pots.
Learn from current campaigns (e.g., Ask-For-Jamie).
Consider wider research (Joseph Rowntree Foundation poverty report; Paper Cup by Karen Campbell).
Overall conclusion
There is strong commitment across agencies, but progress is constrained by fragmented systems, limited resources, and lack of short-term crisis provision. The group agreed that earlier intervention, better coordination, advocacy for individuals, and integrated health–housing responses are critical to preventing people from falling into entrenched street homelessness.
Homelessness Meeting (29/1/26)