Supporting People

This page contains research carried out to help inform policy, evaluate performance or improve the delivery of the Supporting People Programme.

The Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Housing First Support Service piloted by Depaul in Belfast, funded by Supporting People: an SROI evaluation (2016)

The ‘Housing First’ approach provides permanent housing for homeless people who are dependent on alcohol and drugs or who have mental health issues, with the support, social care and health services they need provided to them in their own homes or locally in their community. The intention is that housing should be available even if a homeless person refuses treatment for their substance misuse or mental health issues.

This study sought to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the Housing First model piloted by Depaul in Northern Ireland in helping to achieve the aims of the Housing Executive’s Housing Related Support Strategy 2012-2015 and Homelessness Strategy 2012-2017 and provide an insight into the benefits to be gained by adopting Housing First approaches to homelessness more widely in Northern Ireland.  The research team estimated the social return on the investment (SROI) from the Supporting People programme and Depaul in the Housing First service, comparing this with costs in other accommodation-based and floating support services for homelessness people in Northern Ireland.

Evaluation of Accommodation Based Services Funded by Supporting People (2015)

This report presents the findings of research undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of accommodation-based services, funded by the Supporting People programme, taking account of a range of issues including:

• the extent to which accommodation-based services achieved the objective of developing service users’ capacity to live independently in their own homes / temporary accommodation;
• the quality of life and other associated benefits to service users and their families of accommodation-based support;
• the extent of any directly quantifiable financial savings which accrue to public services, particularly health and social care, from the delivery of accommodation-based services funded by Supporting People;
• the effectiveness and efficiency of Supporting People funded accommodation-based services in Northern Ireland compared with similar services in other parts of the UK or the Republic of Ireland; and
• whether and when accommodation-based services add value in comparison with floating support services.

The Future Housing Aspirations of Older People (2013)

This summary report presents findings from research carried out by the Housing Executive in June and July 2012 into the future housing aspirations of older people.

The research was carried out on behalf of the Department for Social Development (DSD) and examined the views of people aged between 50 and 70 years old in relation to the suitability of their current housing circumstances and their housing aspirations as they grow older.