Our new Practitioner Toolkit – bringing housing into everyday practice
Every OT should feel ready to have a preventative conversation about housing
We’ve launched the Building Health into Homes: Practitioner Toolkit, a new resource to support occupational therapists in all practice settings to have earlier, preventative conversations about housing.
Housing is not only relevant to occupational therapists working in specialist housing roles.
Homes shape what people can do, how safe they feel and how well they can live. When homes are cold, damp, unsafe or inaccessible, the impact on health, wellbeing and participation can be huge.
The toolkit is part of our Building Health into Homes campaign, which shows how occupational therapy can unlock the connection between housing and health.
Housing is every occupational therapist’s business. Every single person we work with lives somewhere, and that environment has a huge impact on how well they can live their lives.
Lauren Walker, RCOT Professional Practice Manager
What’s included in the toolkit
The practitioner toolkit has been designed to help OTs bring housing into everyday practice, wherever they work. It includes:
- an early housing conversation framework, with practical prompts and questions to help OTs discuss housing early and with confidence
- pen portraits from OTs working in housing, showing the range of roles, routes into practice and skills involved
- learning from lived experience, showing how earlier OT involvement could change outcomes and support a more preventative approach
- housing terminology and further reading, including links to external resources, design guides and publications available through the RCOT digital library.
If you’re looking for more CPD and opportunities to discuss housing – RCOT members can join our Inclusive Built Environments network on RCOT Communities.
A framework for earlier housing conversations
The early housing conversation framework is built around four principles:
• ask early, not just at crisis point
• start with what matters to the person
• open the door, don’t force it
• don’t expect to have all the answers.
These principles recognise that a brief, well-timed conversation can help people understand their options before a crisis happens.
Learning from lived experience
The toolkit also shares the lived experience of Martha Hall, an Expert by Experience and member of the Building Health into Homes project steering group.
Martha’s story shows why housing reports, compassionate communication and person-centred assessment can make a significant difference to whether someone finds a home that genuinely works for them.
We’re incredibly grateful to Martha for being part of this project.