Islington dealt with 900 cases of homelessness in 2024, placing it in the top 5% of UK councils for supporting rough sleepers, the council’s housing committee said last week.
The borough is one of only three that uses an “open door approach” that allows homeless people to seek help without an appointment from Monday to Friday.
In last month’s official count, 16 people were found sleeping rough in Islington, while over 50 were found in Haringey, a neighbouring borough.
Hanna McHugh, Chair of Islington’s Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee, praised the “human aspect” of Islington’s housing service.
In addition to the “open door” system, the council ensures that the same housing officer deals with each case “from start to end” until the person finds temporary accommodation.
Islington Council also has housing officers in hospitals and the probation service, part of their effort to ensure that nobody is left on the streets upon leaving these institutions.
At the Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday, Ian Swift, Director of Housing Operations and Deputy Corporate Director, said that the council should be “very proud” of its recent successes in preventing homelessness.
Islington’s Corporate Director of Homes and Neighbourhoods, Jed Young, said that the borough’s homelessness prevention service has been so successful that “Ian and the team [now] travel and support other local authorities.”
This regional work entitles them to additional central government funding which meant the borough recently received an extra £7million to continue its efforts.
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Isabella Steinmeyer is a Newspaper Journalism MA student at City St George's University. She was previously Deputy Editor of Varsity, Cambridge's student newspaper.