Southend YMCA Supported Housing - Young peoples services

Southend YMCA offers supported accommodation for homeless, vulnerable or young people at risk aged 16 – 25. We cannot take pets or couples as we offer single person dwelling.

Southend YMCA offers the residents additional support to assist them through a range of difficulties or circumstances. Staff are on hand to help during the day between 09.00 and 20.00, 7 days a week, then night support staff are available from 20.00. An additional staff member is always on call should there be an emergency. All residents receive a handbook and additional ongoing information such as local facilties to meet cultural needs.

Housing staff provide a wide range of services including assisting with benefits, completing forms and applications, budgeting through to developing social skills and coping with a trauma. Each resident's individual plan is created with a member of staff, who is appointed as their key worker. We use St Mungo’s "Outcomes Star" Plan and the initial action plan clearly identifies both strengths and areas that would need development, and where priority support is needed. Care plans are built around these issues and they are addressed at weekly key work sessions, which are recorded in their personal file. Weekly counseling with a qualified practitioner is available for those requiring this service.

Residents are encouraged to attend a monthly resident's meeting or event, whereby they can socialise with other residents and bring any concerns or ideas for improvement to the service, to the Housing Team's attention. We also facilitate a Youth Board within the building, which is young people lead and very actively encouraged.

Southend YMCA actively supports our young people to move-on to independent living when it is deemed they are ready and able undertake this next step and will organise floating support should we feel the young person will gain from this. We aim for a planned, positive move-on for our former residents and support them to achieve this outcome.

johnlevy@southendymca.org.uk

Access to Southend YMCA accommodation is through the Southend Access gateway referral panel which can be contacted on 0845 6027895, this multi-agency panel reviews the needs and aspirations of all potential applicants and matches potential residents to supported housing providers.

Please note: The Access Gateway Referal Panel uses the following criteria to determine whether an applicant is eligible to be considered for housing: Local Connection (i.e. Lived 3 years in the past 5, or parents, siblings, adult children resident in Southend for at least 5 years.)

There is a shortage of accommodation in the locality in general thus those in most need are prioritized. Where an application is declined reasons and right of appeal is offered