Supporting homeless families

For the last 17 years, the QNI has managed a network of practitioners whose work involves supporting people who are homeless or living in insecure housing. Many of these practitioners are health visitors who work to support families living in temporary accommodation.

As health visitors, we know how desperately unsuitable some accommodation can be for the health, wellbeing and development of babies and young children. Some accommodation is plainly very high risk and raises immediate red flags in relation to safeguarding.

There is also a higher risk of sudden and unexpected death of babies who live in temporary accommodation. And yet, homeless families continue to be placed in situations which generate these levels of risk.

The health visitors on the QNI Network last year contributed to the evidence presented to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness (APPGEH) on the impact of families living in temporary accommodation. An impressive group of expert health visitors offered the research evidence and personal experiences of supporting families with babies and young children, and the impact that living conditions have on their health and development.