Locked Out: a new podcast from Commonweal Housing

In the midst of a national housing crisis, it is obvious to most of us that too many people are locked out of safe, secure housing in the UK. But which groups are particularly at risk and why?

That’s what we sought to uncover in Locked Out, a new anthology of essays highlighting the links between housing and social injustice published this week. Today, we’re excited to be launching a podcast of the same name, in which authors of the essays and other guests will delve deeper into the housing crisis, social injustice, and the way these two challenges collide.

Every other Wednesday for the following three months, my co-host Megan Fereday and I will be sitting down (virtually, of course) with special guests – from practitioners working with survivors of sexual exploitation, to young care leavers, to housing experts. Together, we will try and understand why certain groups are most impacted by the housing crisis, and what needs to change to ensure they can get the housing and support they need.

Today, we’re kicking off the podcast with a closer look at the housing crisis in the UK, asking what we mean by a housing crisis, how did we get here, and who has been the most impacted?

To help answer these questions, we spoke to Steve Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, and Jo Richardson, Professor of Housing and Social Inclusion at De Montfort University and Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Steve and Jo discuss the picture of the housing crisis today: with unaffordable housing, depleted social housing stock and rising homelessness. Looking back from right to buy legislation, all the way up to the government efforts to tackle homelessness in the pandemic today, they talk about what has gone wrong, what has made a difference, and crucially, what needs to change to ensure everyone can access the housing they need.  Each week we ask guests to talk about one current example of an innovative housing solution to social injustice in the UK – and Steve and Jo had a couple of very exciting examples to share with us, from housing for people with No Recourse to Public Funds, to a training and employment service for people facing homelessness.

Listen to the episode on all podcast streaming platforms, or subscribe on BuzzSprout here: lockedout.buzzsprout.com

Read the Locked Out anthology: commonwealhousing.org.uk/lockedout