Housing Matters provides free housing advice, support & advocacy to anyone in & around Bristol.
Established in 1965, Housing Matters (formerly CHAS Bristol) provides free, specialist advice, support and advocacy for people in housing crisis in Bristol and surrounding communities, particularly where there are high levels of deprivation.
We believe housing is a human right. And we fight tirelessly for everyone to have a safe and secure home.
Between January and December 2022, we helped over 1,750 people in almost 790 households - including around 700 children. Our small team of 11 members of staff works with strong dedication, resourcefulness and expertise to achieve a lot with a little.
Why the community needs us
Bristol is in housing crisis: rents are amongst the highest in any UK city and are still rising. Thousands of local people are in desperate need of social housing yet demand far outweighs supply. With lost jobs, debt and evictions, the impact of the pandemic is far from over.
Compounded by the cost-of-living crisis, people already struggling to survive are now having to choose between feeding their family and heating their home. Half of our clients came to us homeless/threatened with homelessness in 2022, compared to a third just before the pandemic hit.
The number of ‘no-fault’ evictions – where a landlord can evict someone without reason – has jumped up a staggering 76% since last year, leaving thousands of people and families facing the very real threat of homelessness.
Our impact on the community
Clients can self-refer or are referred to us by partners. We are situated at the heart of the inner-city community we primarily serve. Clients can access our advice and listening ear via phone or email. We offer a translation service to anyone who may need it.
In recognition that housing stress is usually accompanied by other issues, we build strong partnerships with other local agencies, enabling us to provide more holistic support. We expanded our partnership work last year with seven community partners around Bristol.
Lots of our clients last year needed long-term support as they were threatened with homelessness or already homeless. Out of this group, we managed to:
- Rehouse or prevent homelessness for 47%;
- Got housing conditions/rehousing prospects improved for 18%;
- Empower 29% to take future action themselves, or refer them onto another specialist agency.
