Hildrey Studio has developed ProxyAddress, a database that could connect homeless people with an address from one of England's 500,000 empty houses so they don't lose access to vital services.
London-based architect Chris Hildrey, founder of Hildrey Studio, created the system to provide people in England facing homelessness with a fixed address to register for services with.
The project, titled ProxyAddress: Using Location Data to Reconnect Those Facing Homelessness with Support Services, was awarded the 2018 RIBA President's Medal for Research.
Fixed address needed to apply for job
Hildrey made ProxyAddress in response to one of the leading causes of homelessness in the country – landlord's terminating assured shorthold tenancies. Eviction from a private tenancy led to a 78 per cent rise in homelessness in 2017, according to statistics from housing and homelessness charity Shelter.
Providing a proxy address would help people access vital servicesIf a person is made homeless they lose their address, a crucial piece of information required to register for a bank account or apply for a job. This can set off a downward spiral for the affected person, making their situation more complex and harder to escape.
ProxyAddress would offer a form of early intervention, connecting people in need with an proxy home that can be used to provide a stable address for official correspondence.
Proxy addresses could provide stability
Under the UK's 2017 Homelessness Reduction Act, ...