Supported Housing Scheme

Client & Professional Information

The Supported Housing Scheme provided housing support and intensive support to families referred through the Portsmouth City Councils Housing Panel. 

Between, 1st April 2022 – 30th September 2022 the scheme worked with 42 families.  During this period 22 were successfully signed off the scheme and now have a secure tenancy with Portsmouth City Council.  The remaining 20 families continued on the next phase of their journey to having a secure tenancy.

Information for Clients

About The Scheme

The Supported Housing Scheme is run in partnership by Portsmouth City Council, The Roberts Centre and three Portsmouth Hostels (Catherine Booth House, St. Monica’s and St. Paul’s). The scheme provides both accommodation and tenancy related support to homeless families who have been identified as needing some help to manage a tenancy.

To be eligible for the scheme, families must make a homelessness application to Portsmouth City Council. A Housing Options Officer or another social care professional may suggest a referral to families identified as needing support to manage a tenancy. The Portsmouth Supported Housing Panel will consider referrals to the Supported Housing Scheme at their monthly meetings.

Families that have been accepted onto the Supported Housing Scheme will usually be placed in one of the three hostels (listed above) or may be in temporary (TAS) or other accommodation (living with family/friends).  As part of being accepted on the supported housing scheme, the family have agreed to participate in an assessment of their support needs. The family will stay in the hostel placement or other accommodation, until the family, hostel staff, and other SHS partners agree that the family is ready for a move to a property allocated under the Supported Housing Scheme.

Link in with the Roberts Centre

Once a referral has been accepted, the Supported Housing link in worker will arrange to meet the family and their hostel keyworker for an introduction and then begin to link in with the family. The full assessment process will begin at the initial meeting with the family and will consist of three visits by the link in worker. Outside of these visits the link in worker will contact both the family and their keyworker at the hostel on a fortnightly basis. After two visits, if the family has completed all the necessary actions agreed with their link in worker, the Supported Housing Manager will review the case to agree when the family will be put forward for allocation of a property. Once this has been agreed, Portsmouth City Council will begin to look for a property for the family.

Once PCC have located a property they will advise the key worker at the Roberts Centre who will then arrange a viewing with the family. Only one property will be offered to each family.

Support

Once the client has moved in to their property the Roberts Centre staff will then visit the family at least once a week or more depending on the individual needs of the family. The family and Keyworker will continue to address the issues and concerns raised in the assessment using a small step approach and the service will provide ongoing support in 4 main areas to develop skills and behaviours in:

  • Home Management

  • Budgeting 

  • Parenting 

  • Neighbour Issues

Intensive Support

This scheme is run under the same partnership agreement as the Supported Housing Scheme. The scheme is aimed at families that may have a higher level of tenancy related support need due to individual circumstances i.e. families with several children who are all on the Child Protection register, Learning Difficulties or Mental Health problems within the family unit. The Intensive Scheme is limited to three places.

Sign off

Once the family, Keyworker and other SHS partners agree that the family are ready to live without needing tenancy support the family will be signed off the Supported Housing Scheme, staying in the property they are in but becoming a PCC tenant. However; to be signed off the scheme, families have to demonstrate six months clear of debt*, neighbour issues and also there are no concerns from PCC Children and Families Social Care Team. On completion of the scheme the family will be able to:

  1. Pay household bills regularly and remain debt free *

  2. Have attended the Made of Money Course

  3. Contact benefits agencies to alert to changes in their circumstances.

  4. Budget for any “emergencies” that may arise.

  5. Parent to a “good enough” standard under LSCB .

  6. Maintain their home to a “good enough” standard for their children.

  7. Be able to report any household repairs to the housing office.

  8. Live in their home without causing a nuisance to other residents.

  9. Understand and live within the constraints of their tenancy agreement.

*Debt free means that although monies are owed they have been and are budgeted for and paid.

Case Study  

Hannah came to the scheme with her three children from a local Family Hostel. Hannah had previously been evicted from her tenancy due to struggling to pay rent and bills and as a result received a lot of support learning the skills needed to maintain a property while meeting the demands of being a single parent.

Support focused around setting up bills and ensuring payments were made as well as setting routines for keeping the home conditions to a high standard. Hannah also worked with her keyworker to gain confidence in writing letters and completing forms as well as talking with companies and professionals particularly on the phone.

Not only did Hannah keep to her payment plans but she also managed to decorate her new home and save hard to provide a short holiday for the whole family before being sighed off the scheme.  Hannah and her three children now live independently  in their  forever home.

NB – names changed in case studies.  These are taken from closing case studies.

Unfortunately, despite both scheme success, Roberts Centre no longer provides this service.

Information for Professionals

 

 Aims & Objectives

Supported Housing and Intensive Supported Housing scheme

The aim of the scheme is to reduce the incidents of eviction and homelessness across the Portsmouth area through empowering tenants to learn the skills and demonstrate the behaviours to maintain their tenancy successfully and be good enough parents.

A referral will be accepted to the scheme if a family meet the following criteria:

  • They are the main, resident care giver for one or more children under the age of 16, or are expecting a child for which they will be the main care giver, or there is clear agreement from social care that a child for whom they are not currently the main care giver could be reintegrated into their care if they were offered support and suitable accommodation.

  • And they are in need of support to maintain a tenancy.

  • All families must fulfil one or more of the following:

Applicants have mental health problems

Applicants have learning difficulties

Applicants are substance misusers

Youth of applicants

Applicants are care leavers

Applicants have poor parenting skills

Applicants have poor life skills

Applicants have history of poor tenancies

Re-housing is essential for the rehabilitation of children with parents/s

Referral Procedure

The referral procedure is the same whether a family are being referred to the Supported Housing Scheme or the Intensive Scheme. Families are able to self refer to the scheme. There are two possible referral routes onto the Supported Housing Scheme:

  1. A family may present at Portsmouth City Council Housing Options department as homeless, where they will be interviewed by a Housing Options Officer. The family will explain how they have become homeless, and the homelessness officer, depending on their circumstances may discuss a referral to the Supported Housing Scheme. In most cases families are accommodated in temporary accommodation, hostel or extended family while waiting for a decision from the panel.

  2. If a family are already linked in with another professional agency i.e. Social Care and they are under immediate threat of homelessness, the professional involved may suggest a referral to the Supported Housing Scheme – again providing that they feel that this is appropriate. The family would still need to make a homelessness application when they become homeless.

The Portsmouth Supported Housing Panel meets on the first Wednesday of every month. Referrals to the Supported Housing Scheme are considered at this panel meeting. A representative from Housing Options Chairs the meeting and representatives from the three hostels, The Roberts Centre and Social Care are also members of the panel. Each referral is measured against the schemes eligibility criteria.

The family will be informed of the decision by hostel staff following the meeting. If the decision is to accept the referral then The Roberts Centre will send a letter within 5 working days to advise the client that they have been accepted and explain the process of linking in. The supported housing link in worker will then contact the client within 7 working days following the panel to arrange their first link in visit

From 1st October 2022 this service is being run by The Salvation Army.