How 'housing first' is helping people leave rough sleeping behind

England's government announced a £442m rough sleeping programme in August 2026 that builds on Housing First principles, offering more than 1,000 settled homes over three years alongside intensive support. The approach reverses conventional thinking by providing permanent housing first, then helping residents access mental health care, addiction treatment, and other services without conditioning tenancy on compliance.

The programme combines immediate offers (a route off streets before Christmas) with longer-term housing; the full 1,000 homes will be provided gradually over three years.