Housing First service

There is a cohort of service users within the London Borough of Lewisham (LBL) who have high support needs, but the traditional structure of supported housing is not the best housing option for them. Some may not cope well with living in a hostel environment with other vulnerable people. Others may have been multiple excluded from supported housing and can no longer be referred to this as housing option. The Housing First Service is an attempt to provide a solution to this problem for this cohort of service users. The Service will help them access independent accommodation through a management offer and maintain that accommodation with the help of a support package. Whilst it will not be down to the Provider of the Service to source these properties, they will be expected to be active in this process by building and maintaining a good relationship with the social housing providers in order to have a good level of communication and understanding when it comes to this cohort of service users and their complex needs.