Member Article

Salix Living receives national recognition for efforts to tackle homelessness

Ethical lettings agency Salix Living has been recognised for its efforts tackle the homelessness crisis in Greater Manchester.

Salix Living, which is the private sector leasing arm of Salford housing association Salix Homes, has been Highly Commended in the Best Homelessness Scheme category of the 24 Housing Awards.

The awards were held on Thursday, October 10, which was also World Homelessness Day, an international campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the homelessness crisis.

Salix Living works with homelessness services and landlords across Greater Manchester to provide affordable, quality accommodation for people in desperate housing need.

Jonathan Drake, service director at Salix Living, said: “It’s a real honour to be recognised for our work in this area by the 24 Housing Awards. We’re incredibly proud of the difference Salix Living is making to support people at risk of homelessness in our communities to get their lives back on track.

“At Salix Living, we believe that everyone deserves a safe and secure place to call home. We work closely with homelessness services who refer people at risk of homelessness directly to us and 70% of our lets are to the homeless or those at risk of homelessness.

“We’re doing our bit to provide secure accommodation for those most in need, but with 80,000 people on housing waiting lists across Greater Manchester, the housing crisis and homelessness is growing. We hope we can show that the private-rented sector can play a fundamental role in tackling the housing crisis.”

Salix Living is now working with other organisations across the region to launch a new Greater Manchester-wide ethical lettings agency later this year.

Salix Living also plays a key role in bringing empty buildings back into use as housing as part of Salix Homes’ ‘Rethinking Housing’ initiative to encourage the wider sector to think differently about how it can tackle the challenges of the housing crisis.

Working with private landlords and the council to access grants for refurbishment, Salix Living have created 167 affordable homes in this way, many of which are now home to people at risk of homelessness.

Projects have included transforming the old Star Inn pub in Eccles into six apartments and converting empty shop units in Salford and Rainsough Brow into affordable homes.

Salix Living’s efforts to transform empty buildings into much-needed affordable homes were recently featured on the BBC’s Empty Housing Scandal, presented by Matt Allwright.

Salix Living is also no stranger to awards and early this year scooped a Northern Housing Award in recognition of its commitment to tackling the housing crisis.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hayley Collins .