Many of those accessing the PRS will be on benefits, however there will also be those on low incomes who need assistance and they will have particular needs that schemes will need to address. Furthermore, it is obviously desirable that people who have been helped into accommodation in the PRS should be able to move into employment as this forms a key part of any move towards independence and away from homelessness.
Chapter Ten of the Crisis Good Practice Guide provides lots of information on education, skills, employment and homelessness. It outlines potential benefits and challenges of and of re-entering employment as well as helping clients rebuild their skills and confidence.
One of the major barriers to getting clients back into work, can often be the rate at which their benefits are withdrawn once they start earning. In an effort to help combat this,
Off the Streets and into Work (OSW) has developed an
IntoWork Calculator to help single people make informed decisions about whether they are financially better off in work.
In London,
Crisis Employment Services help get single homeless people back into meaningful, sustainable employment. not just by working with homeless people, but also prospective employers.
Homeless Link have produced some good practice about private renting for people who are ready to work.
Other homelessness agencies involved in the programme are St Mungo’s, Broadway, the Salvation Army, Connection at St Martin’s, The Passage, Business Action on Homelessness, Brent Homeless User’s Group, Look Ahead Housing and Care and Metropole College.
If you know of any further guidance or resources relating to supporting homeless people to move into the PRS, please email us at
private.renting@crisis.org.uk