1. Dundee’s experience has been largely positive and this has taught us that when all parties work jointly in an open and honest manner, misunderstandings and barriers are less likely and easier to overcome.
2. Partnership working is central to the success of our journey so far, this is partly due to open and frank communication as above, but also regular, structured meetings at all levels of the consortium to secure and maintain buy-in from all partners.
3. We have approached this programme in the spirit of exploration, inspired by Captain Scott’s research ship, Discovery, which can be seen adjacent to the new V&A. We are looking to change systems that don’t work and may obstruct a new way of working so it is often uncharted territory.
4. We have approached the various challenges so far by first identifying the best outcomes for people and sticking close to the Housing First principles.
5. The consortium made a point of targeting significant individuals at other organisations to be catalysts for change. Working on the principal ‘people buy people’, this allowed us to build support across the city in part through the commitment of those key people.
6. We recruited a staff team that is just as passionate as those who developed and supported the original concept and implementation of Housing First in Scotland.

This article forms part of a special edition of Scottish Housing News dedicated entirely to the Housing First Scotland annual conference next week with contributions from partners making Housing First happen across Scotland. See all articles here.