The HDRC funds one year placements between Coventry City Council and local universities, enabling academics to learn about the Council and contribute to its work for one day a week.
In turn, the Council learns about research and how to incorporate it into its everyday work.
Dr Jenny Harlock, Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, joined the council's Housing and Homelessness team in January 2025 for a secondment to help improve the evidence base about the impact of homelessness on health, and vice versa, as part of Coventry’s homelessness strategy.
On the 3rd of September 2025 Jenny and the Housing and Homelessness team hosted the Health and Homelessness in Coventry workshop at Council House. The aim was to present findings so far and to develop areas of research interest that will help to improve the health of people experiencing homelessness in Coventry. The event was a lively and productive session. The workshop was attended by over 40 participants from a variety of backgrounds, all of whom work in different ways to support people experiencing homelessness.
There were colleagues from housing, the NHS, social care, and the voluntary sector, as well as Coventry and Warwick universities, the HDRC team, and Coventry residents who are involved in the HDRC Public Voices Group. Breakout sessions allowed focused discussions on specific challenges and ways of addressing the determinants that contribute to homelessness.
This workshop has led to the development of agreed "Areas of research interest", where evidence can make an impact to reduce health inequalities experienced by people who are homeless.
Dr Olivier Haas, our Coventry University Transport Secondee, has just started his placement in Transport and Innovation. We're looking forward to seeing the contribution Olivier can make to the Council's active travel projects.