Look Ahead is a charitable

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost " social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help fi ...

based in East London which was established in 1973. It was involved in the Rough Sleepers Initiative in the 1990s and originally ran a number of large hostels. The last big hostel closed in 2012 and it now provides smaller more specialist services. In 2017 it had more than 1000 staff and was supporting more than 6500 people with mental health problems, learning disabilities, homelessness and young care leavers. It runs the Tabard Forensic Service, in

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originall ...

, in partnership with

East London NHS Foundation Trust East London NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust which provides health services in East London and specialist services to a wider region. History The trust was established as the East London and The City Mental Health NHS Trust on 3 M ...

and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which provides residential step down support for secure forensic patients. Look Ahead invested £500,000 to refurbish and adapt its building for the project. Established in 2015, it provides a two-year package of care in conjunction with psychiatric services, the local police and community agencies. A study by the Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust published in 2018 found this to be £2,972 cheaper per person, per week than the average cost of medium secure mental healthcare, and in the first two years saved health and social care commissioners in the borough £750,000.

References

{{reflist Housing associations based in England Charities based in London