Hackney Supported Housing

Hackney Supported Housing is a 28-bed project providing temporary accommodation and low to medium generic support for homeless people within Hackney.

• Aims
• Referral Criteria
• Accommodation
• More information
• House Rules

Hackney Supported Housing Service Aims

The overarching aim of the project is to provide the support clients require to move towards independence. This includes:

• Helping clients maintain their tenancies and attain the skills and stability they need to move into independent accommodation
• Working in partnership with external agencies to address the full range of clients support needs, particularly in relation to resettlement support
• Supporting clients towards independence through participation in activities in SHP and the wider community
• Addressing anti-social behaviour and help clients integrate into the local community
• Supporting clients to move into work, education and training when they are ready to do so.

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Hackney Supported Housing Referrals

The service is for:

• Homeless people, aged 18-65, with a connection to Hackney
• People eligible to claim Housing Benefits to cover the rent
• People whose support needs prevent them living independently, and that are sufficiently serious to require a reasonably intensive support service
• People who have low-medium support needs and do not pose a risk of harm to themselves or others without a staff presence
• People with a willingness to use the support offered to enable them to move on to general needs accommodation normally in the private rented sector

Referrals are primarily taken from the Borough’s Temporary Accommodation department or approved agencies. All voids are notified to the Borough at the earliest opportunity and a period of ten working days allowed for a suitable referral to be made before other agencies are approached.

Referrers should complete a supported accommodation referral form and provide an up-to-date copy of the client’s risk assessment. This is in order to ensure that the project is able to meet the needs of the client and not exclude people unnecessarily.

Those wishing to make a referral should contact the service manager by email.

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Hackney Supported Housing Accommodation

Hackney Supported Housing is contained within Goldsmith Cottages, comprising 28 single rooms. The rooms are separated over three floors and organised into clusters with each cluster sharing a bathroom.

Each property has a shared kitchen, communal lounge and outside garden area. Goldsmiths Cottages also has shared laundry facilities.

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More about Hackney Supported Housing

HSH provides accommodation for a maximum of two years.

Each client has a designated support worker who provides regular key work according to their support needs. Support focuses on enabling tenants to live independently, comply with the terms of their tenancy and support in addressing the issues that may have led them to become homeless in the first place. This can include:

• Help to maximise income through applying for welfare benefits to which service users may be entitled. Support includes: filling in forms, budgeting and debt counselling.
• Resettlement support including: contacting utility companies and help with problematic bills.
• Help with practical living skills, with getting to know your neighbourhood and the local facilities.
• Getting furniture, including applying for Community Care Grants, applying for loans and charitable grants.
• Help with in resolving conflict with neighbours.
• Advice on care and counselling services that provide specialist help with mental health, alcohol or drug related problems.
• Help contacting family and friends; generally helping to maximise opportunities and play a full part in the life of the community.
• Ensuring that cultural and religious needs are respected and that service users get help if faced with any discrimination on the grounds of age, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexual orientation.
• Advice on developing skills to obtain work, identifying training opportunities and organising daytime activities.
• Highlighting any risks, agreeing how the risk can be managed, including arranging for contacts in case of emergency or crisis.
• Help to keep in contact with other agencies that can offer support and advice and liaison with other agencies, including; GPs, hospitals, social services, the probation service and the voluntary sector agencies.

The project is staffed Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm. Clients have access to the duty worker within the floating support service and also are able to access SHP's out of hours management service.

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House Rules

Residents are issued with a tenure agreement and a set of house rules. These will be explained when prospective residents are interviewed. This includes rules on smoking, which is only permitted in residents’ bedrooms.

The service operates within SHP’s drug policy, which covers the use of all drugs including illegal or controlled drugs. In order to offer a secure and stable environment for everyone, no visitors are allowed.

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