The Centre for Homelessness Impact event encourages individuals and organisations working to end homelessness to come together to create evidence-led solutions. Tickets to the event are free of charge and open to everyone.

The theme of the event is 2022: A defining moment for homelessness. Can we build on the successes and innovations of the pandemic or will we revert to business as usual?

It will feature

• Full day of online panel discussions, keynote speeches and performances
• Keynote speakers include Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, Shona Robison MSP, Scottish cabinet secretary for social justice, housing and local government, Julie James MS, minister for climate change, Wales, Josh Littlejohn MBE.
• Focus on homelessness issues and prevention in Scotland
• One-day online event with ten sessions exploring themes including temporary accommodation, drug-death prevention and stigmatising language
• Performances from Surfing Sofas and Glasgow Citizens Theatre
• View the full programme

The Centre for Homelessness Impact said: “The 2022 Impact Forum is a one day series of live, online events exploring how we can build on the successes made during the pandemic for people experiencing homelessness.

“We all want to end homelessness for good, but despite resources and concerted efforts over the past 50 years, progress has been slow. When the pandemic hit, emergency measures were implemented to house and support people at risk of and experiencing homelessness. But what happens now? Will we build on the successes and innovations of the pandemic, or will we revert to business as usual? What have we learnt over the past 18 months, and how can we use this to create a society where homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring?”

Attendees will hear from experts by lived experience and organisations working in the homelessness sector and related fields to explore these questions, and examine how
evidence and data can support the sector in ending homelessness for good.

The 2022 Impact Forum is designed for learning, connection, and taking action for anyone dedicated to ending homelessness for good.

Dr Ligia Teixeira, chief executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact, said: “We believe this year will be a defining one for homelessness. A great opportunity presents itself to policy-makers and practitioners to learn from the radicalism and innovation that we saw during the pandemic to protect the health and wellbeing of people experiencing homelessness. Many of these efforts had a dramatic and positive impact.

“But the risk is that this great progress is lost, and that old ways of doing things regain their grip on the homelessness system. This is a pivotal moment at a time when the cost of living shoots upwards and many people in private rented accommodation, whose tenancies were protected during the pandemic, are at greater risk of losing their homes.

“Our Impact Forum will hear from policy-makers, practitioners and people with experiences of homelessness on how we can best identify what works and use these insights to accelerate progress. We can make better use of research evidence and data to enhance the prevention of homelessness and ensure that, where it occurs, homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring.

“Our hope was to hold our first Impact Forum of 2022 in Glasgow but, to respect current guidance and keep our audience and participants safe, we will hold our event entirely online. But our programme reflects our wish to focus on Scotland’s policy innovations to deliver its strategy to end homelessness in all its forms.”

Tickets for the event can be booked here.