Housing as Care – Ben Gyles on Trauma-Informed Homes, Delayed Discharge and Why Care Packages Fail Without a Place to Live

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What happens when the care package is ready – but the home isn’t?

We talk a lot about care packages. But here’s the uncomfortable truth – without the right housing, the care can’t land. People remain stuck in hospital (sometimes long after they’re medically fit), families get stretched to breaking point, and care providers end up firefighting instead of delivering stable, trauma-informed support.

In this episode of the Able to Care Podcast, I’m joined by Ben Gyles, co-founder of Urban Nest Property Solutions – a social property business working in Croydon to bridge the gap between landlords, councils and care providers. Ben’s core belief is simple and powerful: homes are not just buildings – they’re part of the care.

Meet the guest – Ben Gyles (Urban Nest Property Solutions)

Ben works alongside his partner Silvia Costa, a trauma-informed therapist, bringing a fresh lens to supported housing and care pathways. Together, they’re exploring what changes when housing is designed not just for access and safety, but also for regulation, recovery and long-term stability.

Key topics we cover

• Delayed discharge – and why “nowhere to go” becomes a health problem, not just a housing one
• How housing shortages block care providers from accepting packages – creating a ripple effect through families, communities and services
• Why care providers often get trapped in survival mode – and what that does to quality, growth and sustainability
• The tension between councils, landlords and providers – and why “it’s just about the rent” misses the bigger picture
• The role of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and why funding rules can quietly break otherwise good plans
• The impact of visa changes on care staffing, and why housing pressures make recruitment even harder
• Using apprenticeships to build local capacity – and give young people real pathways into care work
• Trauma-informed housing design – how light, colour, layout and “feel” can support nervous system regulation
• What educators and carers can do when housing insecurity shows up as behaviour changes

Why this matters for carers, parents and educators

If you’re supporting someone who’s struggling, it’s easy to focus on behaviour, motivation, or “engagement”. But Ben shares stories that point to a different question – what’s happening around the person that makes regulation harder?

Housing instability creates unpredictability, and unpredictability fuels stress. For children and young people, that often shows up as behaviour – not because they’re “being difficult”, but because their world feels unsafe or constantly shifting. In the episode, we come back to a principle many of you will recognise – be a better detective than judge.

If you work with children or young people, listen for this

• Why sudden changes in behaviour should trigger curiosity, not assumptions
• How relational consistency in school can be protective when everything else is unstable
• Why exclusion can remove the very structure and safety a child is relying on

Solutions, not just frustration

Ben doesn’t pretend there’s a quick fix – but he does push for clearer thinking. One of the biggest themes is transparency: if councils are constrained by policy and funding, the public needs to understand where the blockage really is. Otherwise we keep blaming the nearest target and nothing changes.

We also talk about the importance of speaking up – persistently and strategically. Ben’s advice for advocates is blunt (and oddly encouraging): talk to everyone. Not just the “right” person – anyone who can open a door.

The Housing Partnership Forum – getting collaboration out from behind paywalls

Ben also shares why he started The Housing Partnership Forum on LinkedIn – a free space to connect people across housing, care, councils and the private sector, so ideas and solutions don’t stay locked inside closed circles.

Who this episode is for

• Unpaid and paid caregivers supporting a loved one who needs suitable housing
• Foster carers, leaving care teams, and anyone supporting care leavers
• Teachers and school staff seeing behaviour changes linked to instability
• Care providers stuck between referrals, staffing pressures and housing barriers
• Commissioners, landlords and housing professionals who want a joined-up approach

A question to sit with after listening

If a home is part of the care, why do we keep treating housing like an afterthought?

If this episode resonates, please share it with someone who needs it – a parent, a carer, a teacher, a provider, a landlord, a commissioner. The more people join up the dots, the harder it becomes to ignore.