Preventing and Relieving Refugee Homelessness requires more than finding a set of keys. As Rachel Stewart, Paul Clark and Craig Anderson from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council explained at the Supporting Asylum Seekers and Refugees Conference 2026, effective prevention depends on early identification, trusted casework, flexible funding and a coordinated local response that treats housing and integration as one connected journey.
The session, delivered by BCP Council’s Housing Strategy and Housing Options colleagues, is now available to watch On Demand as part of the Supporting Asylum Seekers and Refugees Conference 2026. It offers a practical local authority perspective on what refugee homelessness looks like operationally, what has worked in BCP, and where the most persistent challenges remain.
Why Preventing and Relieving Refugee Homelessness Is a Whole-System Issue
One of the clearest messages from the session was that refugee homelessness is not a single, simple issue. It can affect people arriving through different national schemes, households moving on from asylum accommodation, families whose sponsorship arrangements are ending, and people who have previously relied on transitional accommodation.
Each route into homelessness brings different pressures. Some households need urgent move-on support after leaving asylum accommodation. Others may require larger family homes, adapted properties, help with documentation, access to welfare benefits, or support to build confidence with landlords. For Homes for Ukraine households, the issue may be sponsorship breakdown or planned move-on after a long placement.
Rachel Stewart emphasised that homelessness prevention and integration need to be treated as one pathway. Without safe and stable accommodation, people can struggle to access healthcare, education, employment, language support and community networks. Safeguarding risks may increase, and statutory services can come under additional pressure.
The Scale of the Challenge in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Paul Clark set out the local picture in BCP, showing how different refugee and asylum routes have created overlapping housing pressures over recent years.
Afghan Resettlement and Housing Need
Under Afghan resettlement schemes, BCP welcomed 52 households, with 40 remaining on the scheme at the time of the presentation. Within that cohort, the council accepted 31 homelessness duties and used 15 temporary accommodation placements.
The Local Authority Housing Fund has helped deliver 41 of 49 homes locally. However, BCP highlighted that larger family accommodation and adapted homes remain particularly difficult to secure. This reflects a common challenge for many councils: even where funding and support exist, the right type of property may not be available in the local housing market.
Homes for Ukraine and Sponsorship Move-On
Since 2022, BCP welcomed 512 Homes for Ukraine households, with 73 still on the scheme. The council accepted 124 homelessness duties relating to this cohort, and 102 of those duties ended with accommodation secured.
Notably, the use of temporary accommodation for Homes for Ukraine households was lower than it could have been, with 28 placements across the life of the scheme. This points to the impact of targeted prevention work, including early conversations, planned move-on, and practical support before a crisis point is reached.
Move-On from Asylum Accommodation
The largest operational pressure described by BCP relates to people becoming homeless after seeking asylum. The area has three Home Office hotels and a number of dispersed accommodation units. Since June 2023, BCP accepted 589 homelessness duties from this group, including 41 family reunification cases. Of those duties, 411 ended with accommodation secured.
These figures show both the scale of demand and the importance of having a specialist, proactive response in place.
BCP Council’s Multidisciplinary Model
Craig Anderson described BCP’s approach as a multidisciplinary housing options response that brings together housing, refugee resettlement, social care, health, voluntary and community sector partners, and staff with lived experience.
The model is designed to move beyond signposting. Instead, partners work together on shared casework, addressing housing options, income, safeguarding, health access, communication needs, tenancy readiness and integration at the same time.
A Six-Step Pathway in Practice
BCP’s pathway includes six practical stages:
- Early identification of risk: spotting households approaching the end of accommodation or likely to struggle to secure a tenancy.
- Holistic assessment: looking beyond legal homelessness duties to consider income, health, safeguarding, family composition, language needs, benefits and integration.
- Targeted intervention: supporting access to documents, benefits, deposits, rent in advance and landlord negotiation.
- Safe and sustainable move-on: avoiding quick fixes that may simply delay homelessness.
- Tenancy sustainment: helping people keep their home after move-in.
- Data-led adjustment: using partner intelligence and evidence to adapt the response as pressures change.
This practical pathway is built around households rather than service boundaries. That distinction matters. A family may need housing advice, school places, interpretation, health support and trauma-informed help at the same time. If those services do not connect, the housing outcome is less likely to last.
Partnerships Built on Relationships, Not Just Referrals
Partnership working was presented as the foundation of BCP’s model. Internally, the response draws on strategic housing, adults’ and children’s social care, community safety, education and wider council services. Externally, it relies on voluntary and community organisations, health services, public health, the Home Office, accommodation providers, strategic migration partners, landlords and community groups.
Craig Anderson made an important point: the partnership works as a network, not a hierarchy. Housing teams understand duties and accommodation options, while voluntary sector partners may bring cultural insight and trusted relationships. Health partners can identify vulnerabilities, while social care can support safeguarding and complex needs.
The better the system communicates, the earlier risks can be identified. And the earlier risks are identified, the more likely a sustainable housing outcome becomes.
Funding Flexibility Enables Prevention
BCP also highlighted the role of funding. Homes for Ukraine funding, Afghan resettlement funding, Asylum Dispersal grants and the Local Authority Housing Fund all support different parts of the local response.
Flexible funding helps pay for specialist staff, direct household support, deposits, rent in advance, community support, cultural awareness sessions and local advice hubs. BCP also uses funding to support posts that sit across the wider council, including community cohesion and social work roles.
However, Rachel Stewart was clear that funding uncertainty makes long-term planning difficult. Some of the most challenging pressures, particularly around family reunion cases, do not always come with a dedicated funding stream. Prevention is not cost-free, and councils need certainty if they are to act early and effectively.
Transferable Lessons for Other Local Authorities
BCP’s experience offers several lessons that other councils can adapt:
- Start before crisis: track risks before households present as homeless.
- Build multidisciplinary responses: bring housing, integration, health, social care and voluntary sector partners together.
- Treat housing and integration as one journey: stable accommodation is the platform for rebuilding life in the community.
- Use data, not just anecdotes: identify emerging pressures early and plan accordingly.
- Protect the narrative: communicate clearly about duties, funding, fairness and community impact, especially where misinformation exists.
Conclusion: Acting Early, Locally and Humanely
The BCP Council session made a compelling case that Preventing and Relieving Refugee Homelessness depends on early action, strong partnerships and a realistic understanding of local housing pressures. The most effective intervention is often the one that prevents homelessness from happening in the first place.
For local authorities, the key takeaway is practical: identify risk early, coordinate support around the household, use funding flexibly, and keep integration at the heart of housing work. As BCP’s experience shows, councils can make a significant difference, but they cannot carry the challenge alone. National policy, housing supply and funding certainty all shape what is possible.
To explore the full discussion and hear directly from Rachel Stewart, Paul Clark and Craig Anderson, you can access the session On Demand through the Supporting Asylum Seekers and Refugees Conference 2026.