Housing First Service

Stafford Borough is a predominantly rural authority focussed around two principle towns, the County town of Stafford and market town of Stone. In line with national trends, homeless acceptances have increased in the Borough over the past two years and homeless preventions remain high. Rough sleeping has previously been relatively low, but in 2016 increased significantly to a level not seen elsewhere in the County and on a par with larger conurbations. The Council has a comprehensive approach to deal with these issues, part of which is establishing a Housing First Service.

Housing First is an evidence-based approach to successfully supporting homeless people with high needs to live in their own homes. The overall philosophy of Housing First is to provide a stable independent home and intensive personalised support and case management to homeless people with multiple and complex needs. There are no conditions around 'housing readiness' before providing someone with a home; rather, secure housing is viewed as a stable platform from which other issues can be addressed. Further information can be obtained from the following link http://www.homeless.org.uk/our-work/national-projects/housing-first-england Stafford Borough Council (the Council) has been successful in gaining funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Rough Sleeper Grant to commission a Housing First Service to support homeless people from Stafford with high needs to live in their own homes. Funding has been secured for two years, depending on successful results in year one. The maximum budget for this Service is £42,000 per annum, £84,000 over the two year period, which has to include all costs including furniture.

The Provider of the Housing First Service will both source accommodation and provide support to eligible individuals who are referred into the Service. Accommodation has to be located in Stafford and can be in the social or private sector. The aim is for the individual to remain in their home after the support has been withdrawn, so they can retain the community links they have built up. For this reason there is a preference for accommodation which is available for longer periods of time.

The Provider will work with up to 8 individuals at any one time, although that may increase slightly as those who have been with the service for longer periods of time require less support. The Council is keen to see as many people have the opportunity to make use of this Service as possible through the two year funding period, without compromising the quality of the support provided.

To register your interest and to download the tender documents please visit https://www.proactisplaza.com/.