This evidence-based publication from Homeless Link, developed in partnership with Expert Link and Housing Justice, sets out the core principles for designing and delivering effective day services for people experiencing homelessness. Co-produced with over 40 professionals and experts by experience from across England, it reflects a shared understanding of what high-quality, impactful provision looks like in practice.
The document highlights the critical role of day services as accessible, low-threshold spaces that provide immediate crisis support while enabling longer-term progression out of homelessness. It outlines eight key principles, including creating welcoming environments, building trusting relationships, responding to crisis, connecting people to wider support, and embedding co-production and lived experience in service design and delivery.
Grounded in research and real-world practice, the publication demonstrates how day services act as vital hubs within local systems—reducing barriers to support,
