This project offers homeless people a home for life: 'We want to end homelessness one person at a time'

When Storm arrived at the Harbour – a new supported housing project in East London – she spent her first night “in tears”.

“It was weird. Not bad weird. [It was] because I felt safe,” she told Big Issue. “I’d forgotten how that felt.”

The Londoner had spent years bouncing between homelessness hostels and temporary accomodation, where it felt like “anyone could come in”. Now, she has a room of her own.

Launched by homelessness charity Your Place, the Harbour offers long-term housing for people stuck in hostels or sleeping rough. Storm recently moved into one of its 23 rooms.

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“My last place was a nightmare,” she says. “I was always looking over my shoulder. One [girl was] carrying around a knife 24/7, we had another one come up to my face drunk. Because I’ve been sober and clean off drugs, being in that place was hell.”

“Here you’re not allowed in without a key, they don’t just let anyone in. If someone’s trying to visit me, [security] ring up and tell me first.”

Unlike most hostels, where residents are expected to move on quickly, the Harbour offers a “home for life,” says service manager Amy Gazzard – “if residents want it.”

“Some of them have never had that before,” she adds.

The Harbour includes 23 self-contained flats, shared kitchens and community spaces, with 24-hour on-site support. Rent is £100 per month, with the rest covered by housing benefit.

It’s built on the Housing First model – a proven approach in countries like Finland. Rather than requiring rough sleepers to ‘prove’ they’re ready for housing, the model gives people a home unconditionally, alongside intensive, open-ended support.

That said, the Harbour still has “strict criteria”, says Gazzard, due to the complex needs of residents.

“They need to be stable,” she says. “They can be drinkers or substance users, but they’ve got to be stable and want to work with us. And they need to want to be part of a community. Because that’s what we’re building here.”

There are book clubs, film nights, brunches. Karaoke is in the works. “We don’t ask everyone to take part in everything,” Gazzard adds. “Just show up. Be around.”

Reuben, who moved in the day before our interview, has faced unstable housing since 2021. After prison, he found a bedsit – but it was “worse than his prison cell”, he recalls.

“Single bed. Sink at the end. Sharing toilets and showers with probably 30 residents. I had an open wound that got infected. The infection went into the bone.”

He later ended up in a hostel with little structure and easy access to drink and drugs: “They called it supported housing, but there wasn’t much support.”

“It differs here… just from the energy and the vibes I get off staff – they actually do want to help… I feel like it’s mine.”

Reuben also hopes to reconnect with his 13-year-old daughter – something impossible before due to no-children rules in hostels.

“In my last facility… no kids allowed. Anyone under 18 not allowed to come. Every time I had to see her, I had to travel. But it would be nice, you know, spend time with your daughter in your home environment, and she can see how Dad’s living… cooking, TV on, just bonding, just talking.”

The Harbour sits on the former site of Caritas Anchor House, a Catholic seafarers’ mission. It’s funded by the mayor of London’s Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme, part of the drive to end rough sleeping by 2030.

It’s timely: rough sleeping in London has hit a record high. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 13,231 people were seen sleeping rough in the capital – up 10% on the previous year, which had already jumped 19%.

Projects like the Harbour aim to “unblock” the system by offering permanent homes to people stuck in hostels – freeing up short-term beds for those still on the streets.

“The plan for the Harbour is also to free bed spaces for rough sleepers,” says Amy. “Because people are stuck in hostels, there’s no room for rough sleepers. We take the people who are stuck, and then the rough sleepers can move into the higher needs places.”

With only 23 rooms, it may seem small – but the model’s success could lead to similar projects elsewhere.

“We want to end homelessness one person at a time,” said Amanda Dubarry, CEO of Your Place.

The aim is simple: to offer homes for as long as needed. Storm hopes to stay a while – but not forever. She’s always dreamed of “a garden with an apple tree”.

“Being here [at Harbour] has given me the strength to stay clean. It gives you hope for the future,” she explains.

“It gives you a lot of hope that I can find my little place, my little garden. Because all I want is a place to garden so all my babies and grandkids can come and have peace. When they come round nanna’s they can have a little safe haven.”

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