Centre beats 50+ applicants to set up new temporary accommodation testing hub

The Cardinal Hume Centre in Westminster is one of three organisations chosen from 58 applications nationally to set up a new Testing Hub funded by Justlife. The Hubs will trial community-led approaches to supporting people living in temporary accommodation.

The Cardinal Hume Centre Hub will deliver a holistic, one-to-one model for households in emergency or non-self-contained temporary accommodation (including hotels), particularly those with complex needs. It will support between 20 and 40 households a year, including families with neurodivergent children or those with disabilities, and parents with mental health challenges. Its objectives are:

·       To enhance family wellbeing, support interactions with statutory services, and reduce pressure on external specialist staff

·       To improve family outcomes and reduce duration and impact of stays in temporary accommodation

·       To generate learning on multi-agency collaboration and the effectiveness of holistic interventions

The Cardinal Hume Centre has been a part of the local community in Pimlico for nearly 40 years. Its wraparound service includes a family centre, supported accommodation for young people aged 16-25, expert advice in housing, welfare, immigration and employment, and therapeutic support. In the last 12 months, two thirds of clients it supported used more than one of its services.

Westminster faces some of the most acute housing challenges in the UK, including some of the highest rates of households in temporary accommodation which include 3,800 children, a significant reliance on hotel placements, a chronic shortage of larger social homes (recent research estimates a 100-year wait for a three-bedroom property*), and a high number of families with complex needs, particularly those experiencing neurodivergence and trauma. The Centre’s own research** added to a growing evidence base demonstrating the harmful impact that living in temporary accommodation can have on children and their families. Far more than a housing problem, it impacts health, education, child development and future prospects. For neurodivergent children, temporary accommodation conditions can be like ‘torture’.***

George O’Neill, chief executive of Cardinal Hume Centre said:

‘We’re thrilled to have been awarded the opportunity to carry out this valuable work in Westminster. The experience of becoming homeless is often both the cause and consequence of trauma, so it is not uncommon for families we see to be experiencing complex and multiple challenges. Children growing up without a stable home are more likely to face poorer outcomes in health, education, and emotional wellbeing. They are at greater risk of falling behind developmentally, may find it harder to regulate emotions, and may miss out on vital early learning and social interactions. This hub will allow us to deepen our collaboration with local partners to support more families with complex needs to navigate their way through temporary accommodation toward brighter futures.’

Simon Gale, chief executive of Justlife,said:

‘These Testing Hubs are about proving what works on the ground: how local partnerships, lived experience and evidence-based practice can come together to create temporary accommodation that is genuinely short, safe and healthy. This is about dignity, prevention and practical solutions. The learning from these Hubs will help drive real, lasting change for thousands of people in temporary accommodation.’

The three new Testing Hubs in Bristol, Nottinghamshire, and Westminster are part of Justlife’s five-year Transforming Temporary Accommodation Programme, a national initiative to improve the safety, quality and effectiveness of temporary accommodation across England.

Justlife’s vision is for a system where temporary accommodation is short, safe and healthy, providing genuine support, stability and dignity for people experiencing homelessness. To achieve this, the Transforming Temporary Accommodation Programme aims to:

·       Radically reduce the use of temporary accommodation in its current form

·       Ensure appropriateness of temporary accommodation for the intersectional needs of homeless households

·       Guarantee that all stays in temporary accommodation are short, safe and healthy

Each Testing Hub will receive £64,400 per year for two years (Jan 2026 – Dec 2027).

 

Links:

* National Housing Federation, 2025, ‘Over 100 year wait for a family social home’

** Cardinal Hume Centre with Home-Start Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, 2023, Lived Experience of Families Living in Temporary Accommodation report

***Sensory Lives submission to MHCLG Inquiry on the conditions of homes in England, 2025, https://www.sensorylivesproject.org/policy/ https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/145710/pdf/

The 2021 census found that 44% of people experiencing homelessness were disabled, People experiencing homelessness, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics

 

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