£4.4bn for homelessness: people with alcohol dependence must not be left behind

An additional £432m has been committed to the Rough Sleeping Programme for 2027–28 and 2028–29, taking total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to more than £4.4 billion.

This is a significant opportunity to improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness. But if we are serious about ensuring that people can move off the streets, and stay off the streets, we need to think carefully about who is currently excluded from accommodation and why.

In particular, we must not overlook people who are dependent on alcohol and have complex needs.

For some people, alcohol dependence is closely connected to their experience of homelessness. It may contribute to the loss of accommodation, make it harder to sustain a tenancy or complicate their ability to engage with services.

But the relationship works both ways. Living without a safe, stable home can make alcohol-related harm worse and make it much harder for someone to improve their health or reduce their drinking. People find themselves trapped in a catch 22.

There are an estimated 650,000 people who are alcohol dependent in England and Wales. Around 70,000 of those are homeless or at immediate risk of homelessness.

Yet people with the most complex needs can find themselves with the fewest accommodation options.

Some hostels and supported housing services require residents to be abstinent or to control their drinking. Other services are unwilling to manage the risks associated with severe alcohol dependence, withdrawal, alcohol-related brain damage or co-occurring mental health conditions.

People can end up moving between the streets, temporary accommodation, hospitals and other services, without finding anywhere that can offer the stability and support they need.

This situation is damaging for individuals and frustrating for the professionals trying to help them.

At Alcohol Change UK, we have a strong understanding of the solutions.

Building on our Blue Light Approach, in 2025 we worked with 29 local authorities, national experts and people with lived experience to develop guidance on improving accommodation options for people with alcohol dependence and complex needs.

The work resulted in two complementary reports.

Part One: Improving accommodation options is aimed at commissioners, housing leads and service managers. It examines the barriers people face, explores different accommodation models and includes an Improvement Plan Audit Tool to help local partnerships assess their current provision and identify what needs to change.

Part Two: The law, benefits and national guidance is designed for frontline practitioners. It provides practical guidance on housing law and welfare benefits, including how professionals can support people to access and maintain suitable accommodation.

Together, the reports offer a practical starting point for local authorities and their partners who want to improve their response.

A central finding from our work is that there is no single housing model that will meet everyone's needs.

Some people can maintain a tenancy with appropriate floating support. Others need intensive, multidisciplinary help. Some may benefit from Housing First approaches, while others need alcohol-tolerant supported accommodation, Managed Alcohol Programmes or specialist residential care.

People with alcohol-related brain damage may need particular forms of support. Women experiencing domestic abuse may need access to safe, women-only accommodation that does not exclude them because they drink.

The common factor is that services need to be realistic about people's circumstances and flexible enough to respond.

We should not expect people to overcome severe alcohol dependence before they can access somewhere safe to live. For many, secure accommodation is a necessary foundation for making progress.

This does not mean ignoring risk. It means understanding and managing risk, rather than relying on exclusion as the default response.

Appropriate accommodation is only part of the answer. The people working in housing, homelessness and related services also need the skills, understanding and organisational support to work effectively with people who are alcohol dependent.

Alcohol Change UK's Blue Light Approach has long focused on people with entrenched alcohol dependency who are experiencing serious long-term harm but who may not be engaging with conventional treatment services.

We provide training and consultancy on the Blue Light Approach, safeguarding vulnerable dependent drinkers, alcohol-related cognitive impairment and effective multi-agency working.

We are also developing training specifically for housing and homelessness professionals, drawing on our accommodation research and our experience of working with local authorities and frontline services.

The aim is to help practitioners understand the particular challenges associated with severe alcohol dependence and make informed, practical decisions about accommodation, risk, engagement and support.

If you’re a housing provider, homelessness organisation, commissioner or local partnership, drop us a line and talk to us about the challenges you face and the skills and expertise that you’d like to grow within your team.

The Government's commitment to tackling rough sleeping is an important opportunity. But offering someone a route off the streets is only the beginning. The longer-term test is whether they can access accommodation that meets their needs and receive the support necessary to remain there.

For people with alcohol dependence and complex needs, that will require more than additional bed spaces. It will require suitable accommodation, informed commissioning, skilled staff and genuine partnership working.

We have evidence, practical guidance and experience to build on.

Now is the time to put them to use.