May 2025 Steve’s Blog

Thanks for your interest in, or support for, Turning Lives Around. This is a monthly newsletter to let you know a bit about what we have been up to, some reflections on issues in homelessness, and some personal updates from me. Please do let us know if you would rather not receive these, we won’t be offended!

I've been lucky to have had a varied month.

• I met a consultancy to discuss ideas for financing our development programme (where to get money from to buy houses)
• had many meetings about our salary review – this is my priority now
• met the Registered Provider group (Mike White will be submitting our Detailed Stage application very soon to the Regulator of Social Housing)
• attended the TLA Supervisory Board meeting
• chaired the Leeds Homelessness Prevention Forum
• visited Sustain for their team meeting and popped to Woodside too, both services of ours in Wakefield
• Attended the Volition Board (I’m a trustee)
• visited the team at Grace Lodge (thanks for welcoming me!) and spoke to clients
• meeting someone in Rachel Reeves's office to start arranging a visit from her
• Met Leeds City Council colleagues to talk about getting a document together to summarise the 'voice of Leeds' in campaigning messages to Central Government
• Helped lead the TLA Leadership Forum on the topic of recruitment
• hosted a conversation about homelessness with colleagues from the NHS and Local authority
• Met our new lead commissioner, Kate Sibson - that went very well
• Talked with the Third Sector Leeds Leadership Group (which I am now a member of)

The news about homelessness continues to be depressing. Here are some headlines:

"The number of homeless children living in temporary accommodation in England... has increased 14% in a year to 165,510. At the same time, nearly one in three homeless households (32%) are stuck in temporary accommodation out of their area.

I also read that sadly there has been a rise in the number of disabled people becoming homeless - this will come to no surprise to many of you who are working daily with people who have health issues and disabilities. "More than 60,000 disabled households in England faced homelessness last year, an increase of nearly 75% since 2019". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2kq5zk3zn8o

It is increasingly important that we support our disabled clients well, to prevent future homelessness, and that we campaign nationally for changes that will change society so that less people are becoming homeless in the first place.

Someone in the street outreach team told me this week that they had kept careful records, and that 1000 different people had slept rough in Leeds between Jan 2023 and Dec 2024. I found this really shocking. There is a group of entrenched rough sleepers, around 20-30, but there is also a big turnover of people sleeping rough for shorter periods. The latest snapshot was 70 on a single night.

I hope you are making the most of the weather - this sun is supposed to last into next week, so let's all get out into it to get some Vitamin D! I have been putting on my trainers and going for runs two or three times a week with the dog, making sure I get some movement and exercise, fresh air and downtime.

I've not been running nearly as much as @Ian Atkinson though, ran the Leeds Half Marathon last weekend. Here's the link if anyone wants to sponsor him or encourage friends/family/social media contacts to donate: https://localgiving.org/fundraising/Ians-Half-Marathon-Challenge

On a personal note, this month I have been getting out and about in the great outdoors, walking, scrambling and climbing:

Thanks for your support in so many ways, please stay in touch: email me with any questions or feedback shoey@turninglivesaround.co.uk

Wishing you all the best,

Steve Hoey