Equality in Housing

In this episode, we talk to Charlie McMillan, Chief Executive of the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD). Charlie spoke to us about the challenges finding accommodation for people with learning disabilities, in terms of availability and system design, and the value of joined up, holistic approaches.

He also talks about SCLD’s “Include for Good” project, which aims to change societies view of the status, value and contribution of people with learning disabilities by including their voices in research and policy making.

Podcast Notes:

Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory - https://www.sldo.ac.uk/

In this episode we talk to Janice Stevenson. Janice is a Development Officer at LGBT Youth Scotland. LGBT Youth Scotland is a youth work service, providing youth groups for LGBT young people across Scotland. Janice’s work focuses on influencing policy in Scotland for LGBT youth populations.

In this conversation we discuss discrimination in housing for LGBT people, challenges with people not recognising their own rights to housing and issues with gatekeeping in accessing services. We explore research and data in this area, and the conversation raises issues that we know many organisations face, which is a lack of data to help providers deliver appropriate services.

Podcast notes

In this conversation we’re joined by Kelly Henderson, founder and CEO of Addressing Domestic Abuse (ADA), a community interest company providing bespoke support to social housing providers and associated supply chains to identify and respond to domestic abuse.

Today we talk about the work Kelly has done with victims and survivors of Domestic Abuse, the ways in which organisations need to work holistically to provide positive outcomes and the way in which all policy, practice and research needs to be people-centred, ensuring that the voices of survivors are recognised in all the work that is done to tackle DA.

Please note that you may find some of this discussion upsetting.

Podcast notes

· Homelessness Amongst Black and Minoritised Ethnic Communities in the UK: A Statistical Report on the State of the Nation, by Glen Bramley, Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Jill McIntyre and Sarah Johnsen

· Femicide census report for 2020

· Durham University’s work around male domestic abuse

· Next Chapter

· Addressing Domestic Abuse

· Prof. Catherine Donovan’s work

· HOPE - https://hopetraining.co.uk/

In this episode, we speak to Dr Steve Rolfe about the experiences of veterans when accessing housing and veterans’ homelessness and the work Steve has done to create the Veteran’s Homelessness Prevention Pathway. The conversation explores the current debates in veterans’ housing in the UK, and explores some of the challenges that research has highlighted and we talk more about the need for continued research in this space, with a particular focus on the diversity of veterans – a space that for lots of reasons, has been problematic in the context of the military.

Steve is a Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Stirling whose research focus is around housing, particularly exploring access to housing for disadvantaged groups, how people make a home and the way in which policy and practitioners can help people to sustain their tenancies.

Podcast notes

For our first conversation proper, Pedro Cameron and Dr Gareth Young talk to Chief Executive of Scottish charity Housing Options Scotland, Moira Bayne.

With Moira we discuss the history of the charity, which offers housing advice and information to people with disabilities, older people and members of the Armed Forces across Scotland. Moira shares her thoughts on the power of knowledge, the importance of person centered services, and the barriers that the groups she works with face in accessing housing.

Podcast Notes

In this episode, your hosts Dr Gareth Young and Pedro Cameron discuss the origins of the project, and why it's important for the sector be discussing and researching Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion in housing and homelessness, and why it's essential for the stories of those affected are shared and listened to every step of the way.