Ipswich Housing Action Group Jobs

Who IHAG Are

Ipswich Housing Action Group (ihAg) is a registered charity that opened its first house to residents in 1976, originally supporting single homeless men from a base in Old Foundry Road. A Community Resource Centre followed in 1986, and the charity moved to its current Black Horse Lane site, now known as The Chapman Centre, in 2011. Today ihAg supports anyone in Ipswich and the surrounding area who is homeless or at risk of homelessness, with prevention and advocacy at the centre of its work.

Services

• The Chapman Centre, a homeless hub open six days a week offering advice, advocacy and information, plus practical help such as showers, laundry, hot food and drinks, a postal address and access to health and mental health support
• Supported accommodation, currently 38 single rooms across 11 shared houses in Ipswich, for homeless single people referred by agencies including Ipswich Borough Council's Housing Options service
• Street outreach, with workers going out early each morning to check on people sleeping rough and connect them to support
• Tenancy sustainment and prevention work, supporting people at risk of losing their current home

In 2024/25, 131 people were recorded as bedded down on the streets of Ipswich, and the Chapman Centre saw over 6,000 visits from more than 500 individuals. ihAg does not provide emergency beds directly but helps people register for them through the local authority, and works closely with partner agencies across Suffolk.

Working at IHAG

Roles at ihAg include Chapman Centre advice and advocacy staff, outreach workers who carry out early morning rough sleeper checks, prevention workers supporting people to maintain their tenancies, and accommodation support staff working across its shared houses. The charity is run day to day by a staff and volunteer team overseen by a voluntary board of trustees.