Residualisation in supported housing: an organisational case study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how residualisation is experienced across a supported housing provider in an English county. The analysis is in three parts: firstly, it focuses on organisational provision, including impacts of change on decisions on market entry and exit; secondly, it reviews evidence on service provision and the adaptations services are making to reflect the changing pressures of the sector; finally, it considers the impacts on service delivery and the experiences of those that rely on the provision. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses interview data across the organisation, together with material from the UK Government department consultation (2017) and a UK Parliamentary Select Committee inquiry (2017) to examine the impacts across the different tiers of service, including the day-to-day experience of residualised services for those that deliver and receive that support. Findings The paper concludes that residualisation is a direct outcome of the neoliberalisation of welfare states, introducing limits to state involvement and funding, a greater emphasis on quasi-market involvement in the sector and a shifting of responsibility from government to individuals. Research limitations/implications It not only demonstrates the impacts of reducing state support on the supported housing sector but also emphasises the importance of residualisation as a conceptual framework applicable to the wider implications of austerity and neoliberal ideology. Practical implications This paper demonstrates the way that the burden of responsibility is being shifted away from the public provision of support and onto the individuals. This can be problematic for the individuals who are vulnerable as a result of their economic medical or social circumstances. Social implications The retreat of the state from supported housing is both a political change and an austerity-led change. This article provides insight from a single-supported housing provider. In so doing, it illustrates the pressure such an organisation is under. Originality/value This paper provides a unique insight from the perspective of all levels of a supported housing service provider, combined with the analysis of government consultation and parliamentary inquiry.

Restorative Practices in Institutional Settings: The Challenges of Contractualised Support within the Managed Community of Supported Housing

“…In this paper, we have set out a case study of a restorative programme in a supported housing project in order to examine the ways in which programs in similar institutional settings might develop and function. Supported housing provides a good vehicle for this conversation as a sector that is perhaps further down a path of residualisation that is increasingly impacting a wider range of services (Hobson et al 2020). This residualisation in services is not restricted to the UK, with similar processes identified in Sweden (Andersson and Turner 2014), Australia (Morris 2013), and the Netherlands (Van Duijne and Ronald 2018); Forrest and Wu (2014) also describe increasingly broader international patterns of this issue.…”

“…In this sense, residential supported housing projects, where people not only receive housing but also a range of support to tackle problematic behaviours, is a good example of both micro and macro communities. They are micro-communities of conflict, often housing high-risk individuals with histories of substance abuse, offending behaviour, mental ill health, and other complex societal and personal struggles that people experience in their own biographies (Hobson et al 2020). They are also macro-communities, with the population defined by their location, where residents are brought together in 'managed communities' by their needs, including the availability of services rather than the ties that are often seen in other forms of housing.…”

‘We Just Want to be Treated with Respect!’: Using Restorative Approaches and the Dramatic Arts to Build Positive Relationships Between the Police and Young People

“…As in many communities across the United Kingdom and further afield, Gloucestershire has suffered from an austerity driven reduction of services with a significant impact on those provided by the state, including housing and social support, community-based projects, and local policing. This residualisation of support has also left marginalised groups vulnerable, with young people often at particular risk as they are less likely to have appropriate networks of support (Lynch et al, 2016; Hobson et al,. 2020).…”