Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The aims of this project were to provide a better perception of charity involvement in housing the mentally vulnerable and to identify any legal and practical problems these organisations face in providing this accommodation. The community care policy emphasises the community as the primary environment for psychiatric care. In the early days of the policy there was inadequate recognition of the fundamental role played by housing, leading to insufficient housing stock being made available to the mentally vulnerable. Since then, a general lack of funding, gaps in legislative provision, problems caused by homelessness and the need for effective multi-agency working have all contributed to the increasing involvement of charities in housing the mentally vulnerable. Alongside this, various factors have influenced the way in which housing is provided to this group. Indeed, the continued fragility of the funding regime, the multiplicity of referral bodies, the particular support demands of the client group, and the confusing legal framework of occupation arrangements all suggest that charities involved in housing and support provision face significant hurdles in delivering such provision. In mapping the character of charities’ involvement in housing and support provision, this research sought to provide firm data on the scope and nature of the problem. It is recognised that such data will have potentially wide implications for the support of the mentally vulnerable and policy reform in the future. In particular the work sought to identify the legal and practical problems these organisations face on a regular basis and it is expected that the data collected will also advance the current legal debate on housing law reform and suggest ways of harnessing best practice. The principal findings of the research should be read with the full research report, Housing the mentally vulnerable: the role of charities. Project information is available from the Charity Law Unit based at the University of Liverpool.

Main Topics:

The data consists of transcripts of structured and semi-structured interviews. Stage 1 interviews were conducted with charitable housing organisations and were structured. Stage 2 were semi-structured interviews conducted with charitable housing organisations, housing support groups, charitable support groups and a legal advisor.

Quota sample

Face-to-face interview