Blog by Ade Bakare, Public Affairs Officer at the National Housing Federation.

Starts at Home Day is back this year on Friday 29 August 2025. This year supported housing services are facing an urgent financial crisis, with many on the brink of closure.  

Without enough supported housing, thousands of people could go without the support they need, costing the public purse and leaving people who could live independently with support, facing long stays in residential or institutional care, or at risk of homelessness.  

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, this year’s Starts at Home will call for an emergency fund for supported housing, building on our Save our Supported Housing campaign.

What can I do? 

I would encourage you to invite your MP or local councillors to visit one of your supported housing schemes.

We know many supported housing services are at risk of closure. It’s vital that our elected representatives see firsthand what’s at stake if these services are forced to close. Meeting and talking with frontline staff or residents is one of the best ways to bring the crisis to life for politicians.  

If you have a service at risk of closure, it would send a powerful message to political stakeholders if they could visit one of these schemes and see with their own eyes what closure would really mean for staff and residents. You’ll need to weigh up as to whether this is right for you in your local area and your schemes.  

You can still plan a visit to a scheme that’s not at risk, to raise awareness about the national crisis affecting supported housing.  

We also understand that it’s not always possible to invite a politician to visit a scheme itself because of concerns about safeguarding residents. In this instance, you could consider inviting a politician to one of your offices, to meet frontline staff and former residents, if this is appropriate. 

Like last year, we are also including councillors and mayors in the campaign and encourage you to invite your local mayor or councillor to visit your services.  

Councils are key commissioners of supported housing and so local councillors have a direct role in decisions that impact supported housing in your area. Councils play a key role in assessing local need for supported housing and there must be collaboration between local councils, providers and local delivery partners to assess, plan and deliver supported housing. You can find out who your local councillors are using this tool.  

How do I organise a visit?

To organise a visit, we suggest making your way through this checklist:

  1. Invite your local political representative to a visit. We’ve created a template invitation you can use, but feel free to edit it or draft your own. Often local candidates will have a website or social media account which will have contact information. If you are unable to find an email address, contact us and we can help. Try to be as specific as possible in your invitation, thinking about location and timings for the event. Make it easy for your guest to get in touch with you and don’t be afraid to chase the invitation after you’ve sent it.
  2. Think about an agenda for the visit. It is good to provide your guest with this information ahead of the visit, so they know what to expect. They are likely to want to see a scheme firsthand, talk to staff and to residents. You will need to think in advance about who those people will be so you can prepare them for the day.
  3. Plan what you’ll do on the day. On the day, don’t forget to bring a camera to take of plenty of photos and come prepared with any key messages you would like to share. You can also to talk to them about local and national policy changes that will make it easier for you to deliver supported housing for the community. You will know best what changes need to happen in your area.
  4. Share your visit to amplify your messages. Finally, don’t forget to post photos of the visit on social media on Starts at Home Day using the #StartsAtHome and #SaveOurSupportedHousing hashtags. You might also want to let your local newspaper know that the visit is happening to see if they would like to cover the story.

If you do secure a visit with your local candidate, mayor or councillor, please let the NHF know. You can email me at ade.bakare@housing.org.uk and we can provide you with a concise briefing or answer any other questions you may have about organising a visit.