There are several key housing resources that are available specifically to meet the needs of Care Leavers in North Lanarkshire. Housing support assessments are available for all care leavers and where needs are identified appropriate services are provided.
The Council has internal housing support teams across all localities and also commissions third sector agencies to provide specialist housing support services, including specific floating support for young people and care leavers.
This includes referrals to specialist support provision, e.g., Barnardo’s, BTHA, Simon Community and working with our Health and Social Care partners to address range of mental health and addiction issues.
There are several key housing resources that are available specifically to meet the needs of Care Leavers in North Lanarkshire. The following is a brief description of the resource and their role.
Locality Housing Support Teams
Each locality has a housing support team who provide initial assessment of housing support need for every young person. Our support teams provide housing sustainability support for all clients within North Lanarkshire including information and advice, support to ensure young people can access and maintain any tenancy.
If required, we can make a referral to our voluntary sector support service partners who provide a more intensive housing support services. We liaise with these services to ensure young people are prepared and able to access and sustain a tenancy.
EXTERNAL HOUSING SUPPORT
The Council currently works in partnership with a number of third sector providers’ e.g. Barnardo’s, Simon Community and Blue Triangle Housing Association (BTHA) to provide a range of accommodation based and outreach support services.
The support provided has been essential in helping people to cope with pressures and challenges arising from welfare reforms and plays a vital role in assisting those with complex needs to engage with wider health services and other support organisations.
Barnardo’s – North Lanarkshire Youth Housing Support Service
Provides housing support to 16-26 year olds. The service helps young people towards becoming confident independent tenants through a mixture of individual and group work and referrals to other agencies.
Support is provided until each young person is able to manage on their own and an exit strategy is then agreed.
Some of the key goals young people work towards
- are gaining and sustaining a tenancy,
- decorating furnishing and making a house a home,
- understanding their budget,
- debt management,
- how to make best use of a limited income,
- managing relationships including family friends
- and the use of social media.
Blue Triangle (Glasgow) Housing Association (BTHA)
The Viewpark Project is a joint partnership between Blue Triangle (Glasgow) Housing Association and North Lanarkshire Council that delivers supported accommodation to young people. The Project provides homeless accommodation for 12 young people and is a mix of male and female residents.
The Viewpark Project operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
The service is aimed at young people who are aged 16 to 25 years and who have been assessed by NLC as having a medium to high level of needs and where intensive supported temporary accommodation is required.
Referrals may also be made for young people who were previously looked after and accommodated and are making the transition to independent living who have been assessed by NLC as requiring supported temporary accommodation.
The service objectives are to provide support services specific to each individuals needs and promote and encourage independent living skills. Assist in resettlement process.
Simon Community Scotland
The Simon Community provide information, advice, care, support, accommodation & homes to people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
- Mason Street
- This is an 8 bedded (male only 16 years +) accommodation service in Motherwell, where people who experience homelessness can access safe and secure accommodation and receive 24/7 support to address their personal needs in preparation for independent living.
- Residents stay on average 3 to 6 months until they can secure their own tenancy.
- During this time, they build and develop skills and confidence to enable them to manage this on their own. Each service user can expect up to 25 hours per week of intensive housing support to help them achieve their personal outcomes.
- Black Street
- This is an 8 bedded (male only 16 years +) accommodation service in Airdrie, where people who experience homelessness can access safe and secure accommodation and receive 24/7 support to address their personal needs in preparation for independent living.
- Residents stay on average 3 to 6 months until they can secure their own tenancy.
- During this time, they build and develop their skills and confidence to manage this on their own .
- Each service user can expect up to 25 hours per week of intensive housing support to help them achieve their personal outcomes.
- Bridgework
- This service is made up of 4 self-contained flats (male only 16 years +), promoting independent living with adjoining staff premises, in Motherwell.
- The service provides intensive housing support to 4 men who have experienced homelessness, trauma, mental health and addiction issues inclusive of challenging behaviours and chaotic lifestyles.
- Houldsworth Court
- This service is based in the Wishaw area and is made up of 4 self-contained bungalows promoting independent living to 4 females (16 years +), with a further bungalow containing the staff premises.
- The service provides intensive housing support to women who have experienced homelessness, trauma, mental health and care experienced.
SAY WOMEN
SAY Women is a charity organisation that works with young women (16-25 years old) to help them reclaim their lives from sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault and other forms of men’s violence against women and girls with the aim to prevent repeat cycles of abuse and homelessness that young women experience.
TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION
The Councils aims to ensure that there is a level of temporary accommodation available daily across our authority. Our priority to ensure the availability of temporary accommodation prevents anyone being in a roofless situation.
This includes ensuring sufficient out of hours provision. Where we cannot offer a service user accommodation or type to match their preference, we fully explain the reasons why, offer them what we have available and strive to move them back to their areas as soon as practically possible.
We currently have 590 properties available for use as temporary accommodation across all of North Lanarkshire, including managed and dispersed accommodation.
Below is details of North Lanarkshire Council’s Unit and Supported Accommodation Units.
Supported Accommodation Managed
- Manse Avenue Coatbridge NLC
- Thrashbush Quad Airdrie NLC
- Airth Court Motherwell NLC
- Tarbolton Road Cumbernauld NLC
- Greenlaw House Wishaw NLC
Supported Accommodation non NLC
- Bridgeworks Simon Community
- Black Street Simon Community
- Mason Street Simon Community
- Houldsworth Court Simon Community
- Edinburgh Road BTHA
Training Flats
We have one training flat which can be made available to CEYP to learn how to manage household tasks such as washings, cleaning, or cooking a meal.
Workers can arrange overnight stays for their young people as a way of getting used to managing alone in a tenancy prior to moving on from care.
Referral is via the young person’s Pathway Planning coordinator and Housing Services.
Reception Flats
There are currently 3 reception flats. Reception flats provide a respite and planning period for when young people face emergency housing crisis. These flats are available for a period of time to provide a respite opportunity for workers and the young person to look to re-establish their current accommodation or to look at options for moving to alternative accommodation.
Barnardo’s Project Co-ordinator, Social Worker and Housing Locality Champion will be involved in the pathway planning of the CEYP.
Crisis Intervention Accommodation
There is a flat at the Blue Triangle Housing Association in Viewpark that can be accessed as Crisis Intervention Accommodation. This is an upstairs flat that is accessible on a short-term temporary basis. The rent for the flat is paid for via Social Work, but if the young person is on Universal Credit then they can apply for Housing Benefits for the accommodation.
This accommodation is only intended as an emergency temporary option for young people. Although this flat is based at the BTHA building, it is not a part of the core service. There is no built-in housing support package with this flat, therefore any support the young person requires will need to be considered to support them when staying there.