Better health, supported housing & homes for older people

Health begins at home, and the ‘right’ type of good quality housing is the fundamental building block of health creation and physical and mental wellbeing that underpins people’s ability to build a better quality of life.

GMHP’s focus – and one of our great successes – has been to truly embed the role of housing in joined-up strategic action to improve health across the city region. Now, through our unique partnership with GMCA and GMHSCP, embedded in the GM Tripartite Agreement, GMHP is at the heart of long-term, integrated health and housing strategy across the city region.

In addition, GMHP’s lead for health sits on the Greater Manchester Population Health Board ensuring housing providers across the region can influence how best to spend the £6b devolved health and social care budget, and support the delivery the Population Health Plan that aims to bring the greatest, fastest improvement to the health of Greater Manchester’s 2.8 million people.

Our members work collaboratively alongside these close partners in the health and social care sectors to translate strategy into effective outcomes ‘on the ground’ that aim to deliver better health and wellbeing for all, reduce the burden on health services, and support Greater Manchester’s ‘Start Well, Live Well, Age Well’ agenda.

Key priorities

Our current activity is focused on four key priorities:

• Supported housing – we have extensive experience in offering quality supported and specialist homes, and we work strategically with key partners such as Homes England, GMCA and NHSE to maximise the development of new, needs-led supported housing. We also work together strategically on long term collaborative commissioning contracts, consistent housing management and support models, and national lobbying to make the case for increased investment in supported housing.
• Mental health – Our members are facing increased numbers of tenants with complex mental health needs, which impacts on resources, services and communities. We are collaboratively rising to that challenge through initiatives that aim to improve tenants’ housing outcomes and wellbeing, upskill our workforces, reduce crisis and the use of health services, and supporting wider GMMH strategies to ensure a joined-up approach to mental health, social care and housing.
• Health inequality – Covid-19, and the subsequent GMCA/GMHSCP-commissioned ‘Build Back Fairer’ and Independent Inequalities Commission ‘Good Lives for All’ reports shone a spotlight on the acute health inequalities in the region. GMHP members play a key role in tackling inequalities, and we are developing a collective response to the recommendations made in those reports, which recognise the key role housing plays in health creation and equity, and ensuring we build back fairer from the pandemic.
• Supporting care leavers – GMHP has signed a joint Care Leavers Pledge that commits our members to provide consistent and comprehensive support for the 1000 young people leaving care in Greater Manchester every year. We’re also developing partnerships with organisations such as the National House Project, Brathay and GMYN to help further support and empower young people in our communities, whatever their background.