More than a place to live

What this means 

Home is a place where we want to spend time as well as where we have to spend time. Home isn’t just a building – it’s the people and things that are in our home, too.

Home should be a safe place, somewhere you spend time at, and where you feel that you can live a fulfilled life.

What does home mean to you? 

What does living in a place called home mean to you? Dave Bracher explains below:

The research 

One in three households in England experiences at least one housing problem (Local Government Association, 2022). In 2021, 14%, or 3.4 million people, occupied dwellings that were classed as ‘non-decent’. The private rented sector had the highest proportion of non-decent homes (23%), while the social rented sector had the lowest (10%) (Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, 2022a).

There are also notable inequalities in housing – single adult households, particularly those over 60, and those on low incomes, are more likely to live in non-decent housing (The Health Foundation, 2021). There is a chronic shortage of suitable housing for disabled people, who are too often demoralised and frustrated by the housing system (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2018). Ensuring access to appropriate, decent housing for all is a fundamental right under Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Research suggests that disabled people are not always afforded this right (Satsangi et al., 2018). 

Clapham (2010) calls home ‘a setting for family and community life, an element of, and a springboard for, desired and valued lifestyle, a key constituent of self-esteem and status, and an important arena for autonomy and control’ (p.258). Housing is not just about meeting physical needs, but emotional needs and wellbeing too; Gordon (2023), in a report looking at how housing and homelessness were described, argued that it’s important to challenge ‘the belief that a roof over your head is sufficient’ (p.5). Therefore, it’s clear that any strength-based, effective approach in adult social care - one that prioritises wellbeing, choice and control - needs to consider housing. 

What you can do 

If you are in direct practice: Reflect on the homes of those people you are currently working with: 

• How does the person feel about their home? 
• Does it contribute to their wellbeing, or detract from it? 
• What do they think makes up their home, beyond the physical dwelling? 
• Is there anything you can do to improve the place they call home? 

There may be immediate things you can offer – for example, support to claim the Disabled Facilities Grant. 

If you are in policy or senior management: Spend some time researching or reflecting on the wider housing issues in your area. For instance, you may consider: 

• The current relationship between social care and housing professionals, both on the ground and at senior level, and how it can be strengthened. You may find it useful to consider the ‘Families and Homes’ Change Project from Research in Practice (see ‘Further information’, below). 
• The local statistics on renting, home ownership, social housing and – in particular – the range of local challenges disabled and older people may face in terms of housing (for example - quality, suitability, affordability, security). You can find more information on getting and using local statistics in the government Guidance on housing for older and disabled people. 
• Consider how you can bring housing and people’s right to ‘live in the place we call home’ into senior discussions. Are there forums where you can explore the links between housing and wellbeing? 

If you are a commissioner: How do you currently consider homes, and housing, in your work? In some areas, this may feel obvious, such as in commissioning residential care. However, what about community-based support? How people feel about their home, for instance, how secure and settled they feel, can impact on how far people can access community support. How are issues such as this considered? 

How can you bring ‘living in the place we call home’ into all aspects of your work? 

Further information 

Watch

This video from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on June and Michelle’s fight for accessible housing. 

Read

The Government guidance on planning policies for housing for older and disabled people.

2022 guide from the Local Government Association on Putting people at the heart of new housing development. 

Read and watch

The resources from the Families and Homes Change Project produced by Research in Practice support joint working between housing and social care.

Use

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has a framing toolkit, How to Talk About Homes, which includes practical examples for discussing and describing homes, housing and homelessness.