Project announced as one of the three winners in prestigious awards
Housing Justice’s project “The Night Shelter Lettings Network” has been announced as one of the top three winners in this year’s London Homelessness Awards.
Housing Justice created the Night Shelter Lettings Network, a web-based portal listing all rental properties in London set at Housing Benefit levels on one location for the first time, moving us away from a fragmented approach that led to inconsistent access to property information across the sector.
The NSLN instead allows all organisations and individuals have equal access to the latest property information, reducing the risk of missing out on opportunities due to not having previously developed personal connections with landlords and agents.
It is a user-friendly platform that can be used not only by homeless sector caseworkers but their clients as well, providing the latter with more agency and choice in their pursuit of finding a route out of homelessness than was possible before.
Lucien Lawrence is a Special Projects Coordinator at Housing Justice. He said:
“Night Shelters are an important element of support for people rough sleeping, accommodating approximately 1200 people during the winter. But using private sector properties to help people move on is an option that could be very helpful and should be used more. We list the properties, carry out checks, offer a referral service and pay upfront costs to secure the property. So far 75 people have been accommodated through the project in just one year.”
The announcement of the overall winner and the allocation of the £60,000 prize fund will be revealed at a special event at St Martins in the Fields, on Wednesday 4th December, presented by Baroness Louise Casey.
Simon Dow chaired the judging panel. He said:
“2024 saw an exceptional range of applicants giving us a formidable short list and some very tough choices to make. Each project’s presentation to the judging panel were powerful and a real reminder of just how vibrant the homelessness sector in London continues to be.”
More details about the London Homelessness Awards can be found at www.lhawards.org.uk