Medact’s EJ Housing & Health Group is organising to improve policies for better access to secure and sustainable housing. This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns, as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

Over the past few months, our members  have been actively involved in national advocacy work through the Homes for us Campaign, local organising work in Birmingham and have recently started a new project organising with tenants and community organisers in Harrow. 

You will be hearing from the members involved in our Housing and Health campaign, get updates on our local organising work in Harrow and help us develop our next steps and identify other potential campaigns in London. 

You don’t have to be a regular member of the EJ&H group or a health worker to get involved, everyone is welcome!If you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign you can contact Jordi: [email protected]

Background

The housing system in the UK is broken. Currently, 1.6 million households are on social housing waiting lists and millions more are struggling to meet unaffordable rents in the private sector.  One in five dwellings in England fail to meet decent standards for living, with disregard for basic health and safety measures all too common. Housing is not equitably distributed in the UK: poorer households, ethnic minority groups, the elderly and adults with disabilities are all more likely to live in low-quality, unsafe, insecure housing. Despite all of this, social and private rents are growing faster than the cost of living. Social housing stock is dwindling, yet there are around five times more empty homes in the country than households in need of housing.

As part of the health community, we see and care for the symptoms of an unjust economic system. We are united in struggle with friends and colleagues within and beyond the NHS in organising to end housing-related health inequalities. You can read more in our booklet The Public Health Case for Secure Housing