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Around 1,000 people in Guernsey do not have secure housing - with a project aiming to help by going beyond putting a roof over someone's head.
Those without secure housing may not be sleeping on the streets - they may be sofa surfing, perhaps living in a car or a tent, or in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
Now the charity Caritas is looking to address that by not just providing housing, but also the support needed to combat the issues that have led someone into homelessness in the first place.
The charity has appealed for land and financial support to create a housing community using modular buildings, a project that would take place over two phases, initially 12 units and then doubling that to 24.
"I think people typically get into a position where they're homeless or housing insecure through a combination of factors," said Caritas Chairman Graham Merfield.
"There's been a lot of publicity about availability and cost of housing and the cost of living in Guernsey, which clearly is a factor, but typically, housing insecurity or homelessness comes through a combination of that with another issue in somebody's life.
"That could be something like losing your job, could be a relationship that's broken down, somebody coming out of prison who's trying to get back on their feet, somebody who's suffered from addiction.
"So a combination of these factors can lead to a very rapid downward spiral in somebody's life and difficulty.
"We want to put a roof over somebody's head, to put them in a more comfortable position, by providing a home for a period of time, but we want to do that in combination with providing some level of support.
"So the community that we're looking to build will have a community leader who is responsible for working with the person living in the community to help them on their journey to get back into a more secure housing position long term, and also to help with issues like employment or other support that that person might need, and we envisage that we we would be working with other charities and other organisations on the island to provide that person with the support they need in their circumstances."
They plan to build a community, helping people back into more long-term secure housing and working closely with other charities and organisations to give people the best chance to overcome the challenges they face.
An appeal has been made for land to build modular housing units on.
"We're aiming to build the community in two phases. So the first phase would have 12 units, and the second phase would build up to 24 units. We've decided to go with a modular housing approach because we think this addresses the need quickly."
Caritas is pursuing a modular housing approach so they can address the need quickly at a relatively low cost.
It is confident the design will be suitable for Guernsey. They are used in a similar project in Cornwall, with the four by eight metre units arriving complete from the factory.
The units being looked at will be suitable for single people, the greatest need is seen as being with single men typically over the age of 25, while family units are being considered for a future phase.
They have some funding, but need to raise around £1m for the first phase.
The project has taken inspiration from the charity Emmaus UK, which has created 30 communities across the UK supporting more than 850 homeless people.
Each offers between 20 and 40 places for people to live, while in contrast to the project planned in Guernsey they also have a social enterprise attached to them that people are expected to work in, like charity shops, cafes, house clearance businesses and gardening projects.
In February the Guernsey Community Foundation launched a new homelessness charity called at Home in Guernsey. It is concentrating on providing one to one support and helping the States develop policies in this area.
The States' Indicators of Poverty report last year estimated that more than 1,000 men, women and children were insecurely housed , an increase of nearly 50% since 2016.
For more information visit caritas.org.gg. Anyone looking to support should email office@caritas.org.gg
Homelessness highlighted again as local charity seeks support
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