EAST Ayrshire Council is leading the way on tackling homelessness as they enter into a Community of Practice pilot with the Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI).

They’re one of only three local authorities across the UK to take part in the eight month partnership which will explore the private sector for sustainable and accessible housing options for homeless people.

The Council will work with Pembrokeshire Council in Wales and Southend-On-Sean Borough Council in England in the ‘people focussed’ exercise to help some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

Experts from each authority will work collaboratively to pioneer new ways of working, to improve infrastructure and data practices, translating ideas into solutions for our communities. The focus will be on experimentation and evaluation, while keeping people at the heart of the work.

Councillor Elena Whitham, Depute Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities said: “This is such an exciting project. It is innovative and data- led, and it will help us to achieve our rapid rehousing vision across East Ayrshire.

“In 2017, the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) was formed to find solutions to short and long term solutions to end homelessness and rough sleeping and transform the use of temporary accommodation in Scotland.

“A key recommendation of this group was for local authorities to transition to a Housing First and Rapid Rehousing approach, developing a five-year plan to ensure that progress is made as quickly as possible. Our Council’s Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan was agreed in May and sets out our vision of eradicating homelessness through early intervention and prevention.

We will be exploring all tenures to ensure a settled housing options is reached for someone as quickly as possible, reducing any time spent in temporary accommodation.”