About us

The Centre for Homelessness Impact champions the creation and use of better evidence for a world without homelessness, and is part of the network of What Works Centres. Our mission is to help improve the lives of those experiencing homelessness by ensuring that policy, practice and funding decisions are underpinned by reliable evidence. We want to help create a society where any experience of homelessness is prevented whenever possible and, where it cannot be prevented, it is a rare, brief and non-recurring experience.

We work to help policy-makers, commissioners and frontline practitioners understand which programmes and strategies work best. We’re big believers in the power of evidence when it comes to solving complex social problems like homelessness – and we’re building a multidisciplinary, agile team to deliver content, training and evidence tools that make a real difference to those affected, as well as the staff who are working towards a future without homelessness.

Our Strategy 2019-24 is rooted in three main areas of activity:

• We make evidence accessible: We help generate a wide range of reliable evidence required to effectively address the complex systems that influence homelessness.
• We support implementation: We work alongside leaders and front line staff to help them harness the power of data and evidence to maximise the positive impact of limited resources.
• We mobilise change makers: We create a learning culture and help policy-makes, practitioners and funders ask difficult questions and act promptly on the best knowledge available.

What does this all look like in practice?

Well, since 2020, we’ve worked with over 100 councils and organisations across the UK, supporting them develop the resources and tools needed to accelerate progress towards ending homelessness. We’ve helped to develop an evidence-led approach to Aberdeen Council’s youth homelessness services and helped to establish the Ending Homelessness in Aberdeen Partnership Board. CHI worked closely with the Treasury and the housing department during the last Spending Review negotiations, and a similar process was used to place the best evidence at the heart of the latest iteration of the UK Government’s rough sleeping strategy, published in September 2022. And we are proud to have provided in-depth, evidence-led advice to the Royal Foundation to support HRH Prince William’s new flagship initiative on homelessness.