We want to end youth homelessness and we’re tackling the problem locally by providing a home and support to 250 young people in Norfolk and Suffolk every night. We give them a stable home and the skills they need so they can leave us and forge an independent life.
Our new Housing Related Support service enables young people at risk of homelessness to secure a safe home, move forwards and live independently. Only those people with an identified housing support need to receive a housing related support service.
The service aims to provide accommodation and housing support to enable vulnerable young people between the ages of 16-24* to gain or regain the necessary skills to enable them to live independently and participate in their community.
*The service cannot accept young people who are 16-17 and are a looked after children or care leavers.
TBF aim’s to provide a range of accommodation-based housing support services to support young people (for a maximum of up to 2 years) to:
- Develop and maintain skills to live independently
- Move on to suitable accommodation
- Manage finances including access to benefits and debt advice
- Access a range of services and community facilities to meet their needs, including health care, treatment, mental health support, advocacy, resettlement, floating support, befriending and social and leisure activities.
- Build on their individual strengths and assets to achieve the outcomes that matter to them in their move to independence and improve health and wellbeing
- Access education, training, volunteering opportunities and to develop work finding skills such as job search, CV preparation and interview techniques.
- Find paid employment, including support to attend Department of Work and Pensions and Work Programme appointments.
- Rebuild or establish friendships and relationships that can assist to counter isolation
Referrals into the service are through a Gateway with Suffolk County Council (Apply for housing related support – Suffolk County Council) Applicants must be living in or are moving to Suffolk.
TBF’s contract is to provide 15 units of accommodation in Lowestoft and 15 units in Ipswich.
Properties that are currently up and running are:-
- Avenue Mansion, Lowestoft – 8 units of self-contained accommodation
- Chevallier Street, Ipswich – 5 units of shared accommodation
- Coming soon – Kings Avenue – 5 units of shared accommodation
