Welcome to the Resettlement handbook

NEW content on older homelessness

The UK Coalition on Older Homelessness has produced, with Look Ahead Housing and Care, a Guide to Resettling Older People from Hostels, which is available here.

The Handbook was first published in 1998, a collaborative research and good practice sharing project by the National Resettlement Forum. Now, with funding from the Housing Corporation we are delighted to be updating the content making this resource available for easy consultation, free, on our website.

The Handbook was envisaged as an accessible guide to good practice in the sector of resettlement that can be easily updated and as an internet resource we hope it will be just that.

This website aims to present the revised and updated content of the original handbook in a format that is easily accessible, easy to navigate and easy to read. The hope is that staff and volunteers in hostels can make use of it on a regular or ad-hoc basis, reading through the sections and parts, or searching for a specific topic or question.

We have not re-printed the updated material in hard copy handbooks because it will be regularly updated and added to, and maintainining the content online allows for it to be an evolving and improving source of good practice. Hard copy handbooks are not available at the moment, but the website pages can be printed. See here more on printing from the handbooks

The sample policies and case studies give material for staff and volunteers to take back to their teams to discuss when reviewing and implementing policy and good practice. All comments are welcome, on the content, and presentation of the website. Please email the project co-ordinator with any suggestions, comments or errors you come across or would like to raise.

The Handbook is in six parts:

• The Theory section asks what resettlement is and what it is trying to achieve. It also covers the environment within which resettlement services work and the relationship between worker and client.

• The Creating a positive service section includes issues of staffing, equal opportunities and quality.
• Managing risks is about managing risks and difficult situations in resettlement work.

• Working with individuals considers good practice in working with individuals with different needs.

• The journey covers the 14 stages of resettlement from the original handbook.

• Move-on implements some of the learning from Homeless Link's Move on Plans Protocols (MOPP) project.

See also: How to use this handbook | Contributors and thanks