The longstanding housing crisis is one of the most noteworthy challenges facing the UK in 2025. It is an issue that evokes passionate responses from people all over the political, societal, and economic spectrum as it ultimately affects us all, albeit some more than others.

First People Housing (FPH) was founded in 2022 with a clear mission: to improve the standard of living for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Drawing on a wealth of experience across housing and support services, FPH has built a strong reputation for providing temporary housing to individuals facing significant life challenges—including those experiencing homelessness, substance misuse, a history of offending, and domestic abuse.

Selflessness is an interesting idea. We all believe we are, even when we see examples of it that outweigh our own behaviours. We all see selfish people, acts and words, and complain to companions that we would never do or say those things – we’re not selfish after all. And yet, most of us dedicate the majority of our lives to the betterment of ourselves. We embrace mantras like “looking after numero uno” and “treating ourselves”. There is nothing wrong with that – there’s no such thing as a free lunch and none of us work for free.

Masculinity is a strange concept. One mans masculine is another mans feminine, we all know what it means but we disagree what it constitutes and in reality, it’s a socially constructed idea based on nothing but stories. And yet, it means a lot to people, and it has great societal impact, particularly with regard to men’s mental health.

This is a great time of year for those of us who enjoy rallying the mates and going for a pint. The Six Nations is on, the Premier League and Champions League are running simultaneously, and it’s the shortest month of the year to receive your salary – all great excuses to stop by the King of Prussia on your commute home. 

As we approach the spring, it’s easy for us to look forward to brighter mornings, getting home while it’s still light outside, and perhaps even a visit to the pub garden. These are reasons for positivity in gloomy February. With that being said, it is still the most difficult time of the year for those in the unfortunate position of sleeping rough. It’s still bitterly cold outside, it still feels dark for most of the day and the levels of homeless and rough sleepers on the streets are still astronomical.

Sir Tony Blair is one of the most polarising and influential figures in modern British history. While there is definitely no shortage of written words concerning his time as Prime Minister and his decisions since, I felt somewhat compelled to write about his comments regarding mental health on a podcast last week.

As we head close the book on 2024, it’s fair to say there were seismic changes in the UK in the past year. The Labour landslide of July and public attitudes in December show that a lot can happen in a very short space of time.

Greater Manchester has become the first area in the UK to introduce a strategy specifically aimed at addressing gender-based violence against men and boys. The initiative outlines measures to address domestic abuse and sexual assault, increase awareness of available support services, and enhance trauma management training for professionals.

After a busy Christmas and New Year, we have now Auld Lang Syne’d our way into 2025. In truth, end of year celebrations brings little respite for the First People Housing staff and there is much to focus on as we embark on the new year. With that being said, I think it is important to highlight the wins – big and small, before putting the year in the rearview mirror. Nelson Mandela famously said: “The world needs moments of celebration. It’s a way to bring us together.” I agree with him, so this blog will provide insight on the successes we had in 2024 and some of our plans for the year ahead.

Prince William launched a campaign to prevent homelessness in the UK over a year ago. He founded Homewards, and initiative aimed at showing homelessness could be ended and it should not exist in the 21st century in an economically developed country like the UK.

November is here. All the “back to school” gear you bought for your children is ripped, broken and just in time for you to replace it, you now have Christmas lists and non-stop Mariah Carey to contend with.

On October 30^th 2024, Rachel Reeves delivered the first Labour budget for 15 years. The last one, delivered by Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown in 2009, was heavily focused on guiding the UK through the global financial crisis instigated the previous year.

Everybody thinks they have the hardest job in the world. When I worked in McDonalds as a teenager I felt that way. In my current day job I still feel that way. The reality is we internalise our issues that may seem trivial to those who do not spend a day in our shoes and in the moment they can seem like life-or-death insurmountable issues. This is the case for doctors, nurses, paramedics etc. However, most of the issues people at face are only big problems to us – not the outside world.

We have reached mid-October in the UK. The summer is behind us which means one thing – we’re going to spend the next four months exasperated at the weather in Britian. We love to talk about the weather in the UK. A South African friend of mine recently told me it was the most noticeable thing about moving to the country, which is underwhelming in all fairness.

Many of the First People Housing blogs have previously focused on the issues of homelessness, rough sleeping, male mental health and suicide rates. As a charity who provides opportunity and shelter to ex-offenders, rough sleepers and male victims of domestic violence, it make sense for us to highlight the last area where we focus our support.

For the first time in 15 years, the keynote speech at the Labour Party Conference was delivered by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was a home game for the PM, with a typically optimistic crowd of members, colleagues and supporters drowning his soft spoken tone with claps and cheers seemingly (and annoyingly) interminably throughout the 54 minute speech. 

In September of this year, the Labour government implemented their early prisoner release scheme aimed at freeing space in prisons. The plan was initially proposed by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government, however after the general election in July, Labour made tweaks and implemented the scheme last week. While it has received widespread backlash across the media, at FPH we certainly agree with freeing those jailed under minor offences and offering ex-prisoners opportunity and shelter.

Councils across England and prominent charity and media figures have called for the introduction of a National Men’s Health Strategy in the UK following the publishing of two damning reports. The reports conducted by The Local Government Association (LGA) which represents councils across England, and the preeminent charity Movember respectively, have outlined a worrying trend of preventable male deaths and a disparity between early death rates in affluent and deprived areas.

The weekly blogs written so far on the First People Housing website have centred on national coverage of the issues of homelessness, rough sleeping, mental health among males and domestic abuse. With the recent election and subsequent promises of change, it made sense for the blogs to focus on the national reality of the issues we aim to assist with.