A successful Derbyshire housing scheme which works one-to-one with homeless people who have struggled to keep a roof over their heads is set to be rolled out in Burton.
Home4Me, which is operated by the Derventio Housing Trust, has been launched to help tackle the homeless problem in the town after it was commissioned by East Staffordshire Borough Council.
The project is aimed at a hardcore of rough sleepers who have tried but failed to stay off the streets, either because landlords are unwilling to house them, or they have been ejected from accommodation in the past.
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It works by giving people a place to live, accompanied by long-term support which aims to help them to get to grips with the challenges of living in their own home, dealing with issues such as drugs or alcohol dependency and turning their backs on the behaviours and lifestyle associated with sleeping rough.
Derventio Housing Trust launched Home4Me in 2018 after Derby Homes, which manages Derby City Council’s homelessness services, asked it to work with 20 of the city’s homeless people who were facing multiple exclusions and who were the people no-one wanted to house.
It received no funding for the project ahead of its launch but was told that it would receive money only if and when it managed to keep the 20 people in their accommodation for six months.
This was much longer than the majority of the participants had ever lived independently under one roof before and the Trust was told to do whatever it needed in order to make the project work.
It managed to achieve its target and even go a few steps further and by nine months, 19 people were still in their accommodation, three of whom had found work, one had been enrolled in university, two were on work-related courses and eight were volunteering regularly.
Home4Me was also praised by former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, when he visited Derventio Housing Trust in January 2019.
The scheme was officially launched in Burton last month, however the coronavirus lockdown has meant that its initial activity had to be different to the original plans.
Jackie Carpenter, assistant director of Derventio Housing Trust, said: “We’re very pleased and proud to be launching Home4Me in Burton in partnership with East Staffordshire Borough Council. Together we’ve agreed how Home4Me can start, working around the restrictions, and we look forward to getting things properly underway.
“This is a brave and ambitious project because it works with people whose challenges in life are extremely complex and whose backgrounds and experience mean that they have struggled to live in a way that the rest of society expects and takes for granted.
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“Our Home4Me project has achieved results that a great many other projects and organisations have failed to do, which is a testament to Derventio’s people-focussed outlook, our flexibility and the incredible hard work and commitment of our staff, who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make this scheme work.”
One of the people who has been helped by the Home4Me project is Carl*, 24, who had been living in a hostel since being released from his 18-month prison sentence and was struggling with cannabis and heroin addiction and had previous history of anxiety and depression.
Since being a part of the Home4Me, he took advantage of the stability and personalised support to make some significant changes, going back onto his methadone programme, signing up to a rehab programme and keeping his home immaculate.
He said: “I had always seen my life around gangs, drugs and money and nobody had ever listened to me, they have always failed me because of my actions.
“Then I was put onto the Home4Me scheme. I was nervous and I didn’t trust anybody, but I was wrong to do so.
“Home4Me helped me so much and things can only get better. I am back on my medication after refusing to take it, my debts are being sorted and I am now seeing the bigger picture about things. I couldn’t be happier.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors
Name has been changed to protect anonymity.
Derventio Housing Trust is an award-winning specialist social housing provider for people who have recently been experiencing homelessness. It is a Community Interest Company reg 05886593. It started when it set up a temporary winter night shelter in Derby in 2003. It is also a Registered Provider of social housing.
Owing to the high demand, it grew and developed its accommodation, its geographic coverage and complementary support services.
It currently manages 600 bed spaces of accommodation for single homeless people in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Working strategically with partners – local authorities, funders, other not-for-profits – it helps more than 1,100 people each year by offering housing, support and specialist projects in order that they improve their health and wellbeing, increase resilience and prepare for independent living, learning and employment.
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