London managers sent to USA
The LHF funded a trip to the USA for London staff to understand how homelessness is managed in the States.
- Arlington House/Pact/One Housing Group
- £20,000
- Period: July 2012
Understanding how other societies tackle homelessness is a really useful way of challenging the sector in London, and bringing in new ideas. The LHF funded a trip to the East Coast for four managers in London Homelessness agencies. They were tasked with learning what was going on and reporting back to the LHF with their ideas and proposals.
Octavia Williams, Business Development Manager, Arlington, One Housing Group, Joanna Rigby-Jones, Business Development Project Manager, One Support, One Housing Group, Angus Mulready-Jones, Director of Integrated Family Support, Pact and Katy Bennett, Integrated Family Support Worker, Pact visited Philadelphia and New York funded by Personal Development Grants from the LHF. They met key people in the sector and visited a number of homelessness projects.
Reporting back to the LHF they highlighted a number of key differences in the way the two countries see homelessness.
· An even greater enthusiasm and passion from providers than is often the case in the UK
· A greater requirement for homeless people to contribute financially to their rent, and to save for the future
· Less sharing of experiences between agencies.
Octavia, said “The whole visit was enlightening and stimulating; I have learnt a tremendous amount, with some immediately practical ideas that have already started to inform my work at Arlington”.
Joanna, added, “I was struck by the staff that we met and their deep rooted passion for what they are doing. Not only is it evident in their demeanour and working practice, it is also demonstrated in their willingness to invest in the high level qualifications that are required to work in this field in the USA, whilst knowing that this career will never make them rich”
