Knowsley Summer 2015 - Issue 15 Housing Options Welcome to the summer edition of IN THE KNOW The last few months have been as busy as usual assisting customers with housing advice, preventing homelessness, homeless assessments and providing access to the private-rented sector with a cashless bond. During 2014/15 Knowsley Housing Options prevented 611 customers from becoming homeless and reduced the number of statutory homeless cases within Knowsley. For a snap shot at other performance areas, please read this issue of IN THE KNOW. I hope you enjoy the summer edition as all articles have been written by members of the team on topics that are of interest to individual team members. As always, if you have any questions or would like further information about our service, please do not hesitate to contact me. www.knowsleyhousingoptions.org Meet the Team Maureen Ashcroft Housing Options Manager
Transcript
Knowsley
Summer 2015 - Issue 15
Housing Options
Welcome to the summer edition of IN THE KNOW
The last few months have been as busy as usual assisting customers with housing advice, preventinghomelessness, homeless assessments and providingaccess to the private-rented sector with a cashless bond.
During 2014/15 Knowsley Housing Options prevented611 customers from becoming homeless and reducedthe number of statutory homeless cases withinKnowsley. For a snap shot at other performance areas,please read this issue of IN THE KNOW.
I hope you enjoy the summer edition as all articles havebeen written by members of the team on topics that areof interest to individual team members.
As always, if you have any questions or would like furtherinformation about our service, please do not hesitate tocontact me.
www.knowsleyhousingoptions.org
Meet the Team
Maureen AshcroftHousing Options Manager
Summer 2015 - Issue 15Knowsley Housing Options
ContentsPage 1 - Welcome
Page 2 - Contents
Page 3 - Housing advice and assistance when dealing with 16/17 year olds
Page 4 - Own two feet living
Page 5 - Lest we forget
Page 6/7 - Support Services for single people
Performance at a glance
Page 8 - Opening times & contact details
www.knowsleyhousingoptions.org2
Page 4
Page 5
Page 7
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Housing advice and assistance when dealing with 16/17 year olds
Having nowhere to live or leaving home suddenly canbe stressful and confusing. The purpose of theKnowsley Young Persons Protocol is to ensure is toensure that partners continue to work effectively together to provide a consistent and co-ordinated response to young people who present as homelessor are at risk of homelessness and in need of accommodation.
This protocol sets out how Knowsley Council will meettheir responsibilities in the assessment of the needsof young people who present as homeless.
A young person may make contact through a rangeof different agencies/services/contact points. Where ayoung person is presenting as homeless they shouldbe referred immediately to the Housing Options service who will take responsibility for completing aninitial interview and if required, place in temporary ac-commodation. If there is ‘reason to believe’ that theyoung person is homeless, within 28 days a child inneed assessment will be requested from Social Serv-ices to determine any statutory duty owed under s17and s20 of the Children’s Act.
If initial contact is made with Children’s Social Care(CSC), a joint interview will be requested with HousingOptions Service (HOS). CSC will take responsibilityfor completing the initial interview and if required, placethem in accommodation under s20 of the Children’sAct.
CSC will carry out an assessment within 10 days toassess duties owed under s20. If no duty owed theywill inform HOS who will then carry out a homelessassessment. CSC will establish if any duties are owedunder s17 of the Childrens Act.
Where a young person presents as homeless outsideoffice hours the primary concern must be the safetyand well being of the young person. Referrals will bedealt with by HOS who manage the out-of-hours service. If emergency accommodation is requiredHOS will place them in interim accommodation. HOSwill complete their initial interview and make a referralin accordance with stage two. If the young person
contacts CSC first, they will be placed under S20.CSC may contact HOS for assistance with arranginga placement.
Following the child in need assessment, where it isdetermined that a duty is owed under s20 or s17 ofthe Children’s Act:
Section 20
CSC will discuss the options with the young person,ensuring they have the opportunity to make a fully informed decision on whether to accept the offer of assistance under s20. If the offer of assistance is accepted, CSC will be responsible for securing accommodation for the young person. CSC will alsotreat the young person as ‘looked after’. Where appropriate, CSC, in meeting their responsibility, mayrequest assistance from HOS, however, should HOSbe unable to assist then CSC must pursue alternativeroutes to secure accommodation for the young person.
Section 17
Where a S20 is not appropriate, a decision needs tobe made as to whether the young person meets thecriteria for s17 as a child in need. This decision willneed to be made irrespective of whether the youngperson needs accommodation.
If the young person is found to be a child in need andowed a duty under s17, CSC will formulate a child in
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Bron Afon
Own Two Feet Living Ty Cyfle is an innovative housingsolution, pioneering in its approach, creating eightstarter homes for young people with community connection hubs. It provides training and employabil-ity opportunities, encompassing life coaching princi-ples to create independence.
This is a ground breaking, youth led project that willprevent homelessness. The project is creative and in-novative in its approach, responding to the needs ofthe young people of Torfaen, helping young people tobelieve ‘change can happen’.
Young people are empowered to create ‘step change’within the housing sector shaping how services aredelivered, bringing to life a concept that provides solutions to a harsh reality. Young people are in thedriving seat of working with strategic players to createnew policies and procedures to make Ty Cyfle aunique housing model ‘that works’. It is based on
Own two feet livingco-operative principles, marrying housing and peoplebased regeneration together.
“This project is reaching the hardest to reach and raising the confidence of young people.”
Bron Afon is a social enterprise that is run by staff andmembers who love making a difference to people’slives. Their expertise cover:
Housing, ethical contracting, construction services,community regeneration, community investment andinvolvement, training and support. Bron Afon was created 31st March 2008, when Torfaen Council tenants voted for Bron Afon to be their new landlord.
Similar to New Charter Group, they say they “havebeen bringing their homes up to the Welsh HousingQuality Standard.”
Spending money in the local area means we havebeen able to bring extra benefits which include creat-ing and securing jobs.
need support plan to meet the needs of the young person. Part of the support plan may include a referralto HOS to obtain suitable accommodation. HOS mustthen complete their homeless investigations andmake a decision as to whether the young person isowed a duty under the Housing Act once CSC havecompleted their assessment and notified HOS of theirdecision. If the young person has been found not to
be a child in need under s17 or s20 of the Children’sAct, HOS must complete their investigations of theyoung person’s homelessness.
In most cases both the HOS and CSC will endeavourif appropriate, to resolve any problems with young person’s parents/guardians to enable the young person to return home.
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Homelessness and war veterans
Reports have stated that the reasons war veteransfind themselves homeless is primarily on par withother homeless applicants. But more notably maysuffer post traumatic stress and be older.
“For some former armed forces members the futureon civvy street can be as bleak if not more so thanthose leaving prison. Former service men especiallythose who have seen combat, the gunfire may haveceased but, on the streets their battle is just beginning”. (Independent).
The Tom Harrison House in Liverpool incorporatesa main treatment centre and two residential houseswhere their clients live together. They are the firstmilitary-specific addiction treatment centres in theUK, and their initial research indicates that many veterans find it difficult to engage with more “mainstream” treatment centres.
“clients have found it much easier to engage withtreatment here knowing they’re entering a communitythey can identify with. A suspicion of mainstream,civilian treatment centres is a factor, as when askedour clients have said it was the military-specific element that has attracted them into treatment here”.
There is a lack of opportunities for war veterans tore-integrate into civilian life and this prevents engagement with mainstream services and leads toworsening addiction and mental health issues. Addiction is higher and is likely to be as a result ofnormalising heavy drinking and a need to block outtrauma resulting from active service.
On leaving the armed forces there is a resettlementpackage for veterans but this is not extended tothose failing their basic training or those failing tocomplete four years of service. They would receivebasic resettlement assistance which would be increased if considered vulnerable.
Housing is an essential basic need for all and in particular homeless veterans. The Knowsley Housing Options service works closely withKnowsley Housing Trust within the support set up intheir policy framework to assist war veterans.
Lest we forgetUnder the homelessness legislation a former member of the armed forces may be awarded priority if assessed as “vulnerable”. Additionally, theMerseyside sub-regional housing allocation scheme“Property Pool Plus” may award high priority for rehousing former members of the armed forces.
Support services for single peopleReferrals to supported accommodation
Mainstay is a new gateway service to access housingand support. It was created to improve access for single people.
Mainstay avoids multiple assessments for customersand services. All services share information and haveaccess to the referrals and case notes. Referrals areplaced onto a waiting list and are prioritised for vacancies by housing status, so that accommodationis offered to those who are most in need first. Thereare seven different housing statuses which can beused when referring to services.
1. Override. Used by Gatekeep only in certain circumstances.
2. Statutory homeless. Assessed by Knowsley Housing Options.
3. Entrenched rough sleeper. Those who have a long history of sleeping rough.
4. Rough sleeper. Those assessed as currently known to the service as sleeping rough
5. In danger of rough sleeping. Those people in imminent danger of rough sleeping.
6. No access to settled accommodation. Not in imminent danger of rough sleeping but having no access to settled accommodation and they can be accommodated safely for at least the next three nights.
7. No permanent accommodation. Currently temporarily accommodated and although needing to move from this accommodation can remain in this accommodation for at least the next seven nights. For floating support, no permanent accommodation can also include those persons who can remain in accommodation for longer than seven nights.
Knowsley services under Mainstay
Mainstay referrals can be made to the followingservices within the Knowsley area:
• Knowsley Housing Options
• Alt Bank House
Knowsley assessment points for Mainstay
All applicants must complete an assessment. Mainstay assessments can be completed by:
• Alt Bank House between 8.00am – 8.00pm
• Housing Options between 9.00am – 5.00pm(at Huyton or Kirkby One Stop Shop surgeries during the morning or River Alt Resource Centre)
Moving on from supported accommodation
• Property Pool Plus - once accommodated, allcustomers are supported to register withProperty Pool Plus for rehousing and will be referred to Knowsley high priority panel once they are ready to move on
• Private rented accommodation - customers are given information on their local housing allowance to ensure a property is affordable, and may be eligible for the Knowsley bondscheme
• Exemptions to local housing allowance - once a single person under 35 has been accommodated in hostel accommoda-tion for over three months, (this does not have to be consecutive), they will be entitled to the ‘one bedroom’ rate instead of ‘shared accommodation’
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Difficulty getting a hostel place
There are a number of reasons why people may notbe able to be accommodated in a supported hous-ing scheme. Some of the reasons include:
• A history of having problems in, or beingevicted from, supported accommodation
• Having committed serious offences or beeninvolved in gangs
• Assessed as having complex needs. Needsthat are too high to be managed within asupported housing scheme. These needscould be the result of serious mental healthproblems, learning disabilities or substancemisuse issues
• Lack of specialist supported accommodation
Some of these people may have been assessed byHousing Options service as being homeless as de-fined in the homelessness legislation but they maynot be in priority need. Housing Options service willstill endeavour to help these people.
For those vulnerable applicants in Liverpool andKnowsley who have difficulty obtaining hostel accommodation, are aged 18-24 or who are careleavers aged 21-24 and are not in education, train-ing or employment. Housing Options service willrefer to the Aims Programme for additional supportvia the Mainstay system.
AIMS – Accommodation intense mentoring skills
Applicants are provided with an AIMS mentor whowill give support that is tailored to the individual. Thesupport will help the individual overcome barriers,improve wellbeing and develop capacity towardssuccessful independence. They will also be sup-ported in finding, securing and sustaining their ownaccommodation.
Skills are developed via training courses at Oakmere Community College who offer a range ofexperiences and qualifications for learners. Trainingis tailored to the individual with a focus on sustainingemployment and each of the steps needed toachieve this.
This vital support will help young people transformtheir lives.
From 1st April 2014 until 31st March 2015Knowsley Housing Options had opened 1892cases
We have been able to prevent homelessness for611 households – that’s 59% of our customersseeking our help.
On average during the same period 94% of ourcustomers strongly agreed/agreed they were satisfied with the service they received.
