Pilot project is launched to help prevent homelessness

North Ayrshire Homelessness Prevention Partnership is proud to launch a joint project that will develop new ways to help prevent homelessness in the private sector.

The Partnership comprises North Ayrshire Council, local housing charity CHAP and the North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP).

It is hoped that through a 12-month pilot initiative, called Early Doors, more people across North Ayrshire will be able to stay in their own homes.

CHAP has received £166,522 funding from the Scottish Government’s £4 million Homelessness Prevention Pilot Fund, which is backing another 14 similar projects across the country.

The fund has been set up to inform and support the implementation of the Ask & Act duty on public bodies as part of Housing (Scotland) Act 2025.

The overall funding is being administered by the Advice Direct Scotland charity, and the key aim is to explore how local authorities and Third Sector partners can work together to identify at-risk households and intervene before people lose their home.

The Early Doors pilot aims to support families who reside in the private sector by liaising with relevant services and landlords to address any issues that could lead to homelessness.

Locally, CHAP will deliver the project with support from the consortium partners.

Referrals for the service will come from identified teams within Housing, Education and the HSCP, by them incorporating housing questions into their current service provision and engagement with customers and clients.

This will identify opportunities for appropriate referrals to CHAP, which will act to prevent homelessness.

One service user, who has previously relied on support, said: “Having experienced homelessness myself, I know how vital it is that people, regardless of their place in life, feel seen, heard and supported with no judgement or feeling shame.

“Ask & Act is a call to every frontline worker in Scotland to recognise the signs, to ask with compassion, and act with purpose. The right question, asked at the right time, can change the course of a life.”

Through the Ask and Act duties, a range of relevant public bodies have a legal duty to ask about a person’s housing situation early in their contact with them – and take meaningful action to stop them becoming homeless.

Early Doors will help to embed this approach in all contact with people in our communities through housing, health and social care interactions.

This will be done by:

• identifying early signs of housing risk and acting on them
• including housing-related questions in routine Council and HSCP services
• offering straightforward processes to direct people to CHAP for advice and advocacy
• strengthening landlord engagement through the Council’s Landlord Forum and
• gathering useful data and learning that will help to shape improved national guidance.

The council and CHAP have a long-standing and successful history of partnership working to make life better for residents, including through employability projects to support residents into work and training, reducing child poverty and promoting the benefits of companies being a Living Wage employer.

Debbie Alexander, Chief Executive of CHAP, commented: “For more than 25 years, CHAP has been supporting tenants across North Ayrshire who are at risk of losing their home, by providing independent housing advice and advocacy at the point it is needed most.

“Leading on the Early Doors pilot allows us to build on that experience by helping people in the private rented sector at an earlier stage, before housing problems escalate into crisis.

“Through our established partnerships with North Ayrshire Council and the Health and Social Care Partnership, we are incredibly proud to be delivering practical, preventative support that helps individuals and families remain safe, secure, and settled in their homes.”

The Scottish Government’s Housing Secretary, Màiri McAllan, added: “We are determined to end homelessness – and the best way to do this is to prevent homelessness in the first place. This investment in prevention pilots will help us test and scale up innovative approaches to help people stay in their homes.”

Published: 05 February 2026