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BLOG: Housing support plays a vital role in preventing crisis...
Posted on 10th Oct 2025
When we talk about housing, too often the conversation stops at bricks and mortar. But a house, however well-built or maintained, in however nice an area, does not automatically become a home. For many tenants, the difference between the two comes down to something less visible but no less vital - support.
Take the story of Margaret (name changed), who has lived in her tenancy for years but in near complete isolation. She rarely left her home, interacted with nobody and birthdays and milestones passed unmarked. Her property was cluttered from hoarding behaviour, with mounting credit card debt, which further drove her anxiety. While her tenancy was secure on paper, in reality it was fragile. Her wellbeing, her confidence, and her sense of belonging were all eroded by loneliness.
Langstane has had an in house housing support service for many years, recognising the benefit these services can have. Elise, one of our housing support workers began visiting her. Not once, not twice, but week after week, year after year. Over four years, they worked together slowly, carefully, and with respect. There were setbacks. There were days when progress seemed impossible. But trust was built, and with it came change. Her case wasn’t closed because Margaret sometimes couldn’t face engaging.
They worked to make the property into a home, Elise supported Margaret to declutter and get new furniture. Elise helped her chose items to sell and showed her how to use online market places. No enforcement, no threats against her tenancy, just patience and understanding. When Margaret first received the keys to her tenancy years ago, they gave her shelter but not freedom. The keys lay unused, there was no need for a keychain when the door was never locked behind her.
On her 60th birthday, Margaret did something she hadn’t done in decades, she went out to celebrate. She socialised, she laughed. And she invited Elise too, because by then, that relationship had become central to her life. It wasn’t just a tenancy sustained, but a life reconnected. Elise gave her a simple keychain. It was more than a birthday gift, it marked her confidence to go outside, to lock the door behind her, and step back into the world. What began as just a tenancy had finally become a home, and those keys had finally found their purpose.
Yet too often, these services are treated as add-ons—optional extras that can be trimmed when budgets are tight and Margaret’s story shows why that is a false economy. Without support, while her tenancy might not have failed, she would have been another statistic with a house but not living in a home. With it, she not only sustained her home but regained her dignity - she’s flourishing without the use of any other services.
The latest report from the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) finds that housing support services can generate £12.88 of benefit for every £1 invested. At a time when Scotland is grappling with a housing emergency, rising child and fuel poverty, delayed hospital discharges, escalating demand for temporary accommodation, and unprecedented pressure on mental health services and the wider social care sector, the case for investment could not be clearer. In business terms alone, as 12 fold return on investment is not something to be passed up. Put simply: spend now, save later – in money, but more importantly, in lives.
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'Margaret' celebrating her 60th birthday with Elise and friend.
Yet the language of “emergency” suggests someone is on the way to help. Where is the cavalry? In truth, they’re already here. Social landlords are rooted in communities, trusted by tenants, building relationships, and delivering impact every day. The lesson is unmistakable: support services cannot be treated as an optional add-on. Without them, bricks and mortar risk becoming a temporary sticking plaster, leaving people merely surviving rather than thriving. With them, housing becomes the secure foundation from which people can rebuild their lives.
Positive steps have been made, the Scottish Government has committed record levels of funding to new housing supply, adaptations and warm home programmes. The continued shift to rapid rehousing and housing first models are starting to put safe, secure housing at the forefront of national and local priorities. But, its 2025, Scotland can and must do better. The upcoming Scottish Budget and elections are a moment of decision, will we continue to under-resource housing providers, or will we make a bold commitment to invest beyond the rent account and into the people who live in our homes? If we are serious about tackling poverty, improving health, and creating resilient communities, then funding housing support must be at the heart of national priorities and seen not as a cost but an investment in Scotland’s future.
Click for source: https://www.ccpscotland.org/hseu-news
This World Homeless Day, let’s remember that the path to ending homelessness doesn’t stop at providing a roof, it starts with providing support.
Let’s keep investing in people, not just properties.
For more information, visit: https://www.worldhomelessday.org/
