Friday 5 August 2011

Introducing Abodes Singles

The concept of shelter is considered a fundamental driver of the human animal. It is one of the most basic of needs  – it doesn’t matter what race, class or football team you support – we all need a home. That said, the specific wishlists and requirements of what that home should be vary massively and create the wealth of diversity you see in the housing offering. Its not a one-size-fits-all product and housing organisations often find themselves trying to assess what a specific group’s particular requirements are and how we can best meet them. One example of this is the scheme that THT has developed called Abodes Singles, which recently won £35,000 of funding from Crisis.

The aim of the scheme is to help young, single, homeless people find a home. Traditionally, these are people who have not been well looked after by the housing sector. This isn’t through any prejudice necessarily, just a utilitarian desire to help the highest number of people.

The economy exists that if a two bedroom flat can be filled with a family of two adults and two children then that property is doing more good than if it was filled with a single adult. Clearly, this isn’t a moral judgement, it’s a question of numbers – but that is to overlook the fact that young, single people often find themselves at the thin end of the wedge when it comes to finding somewhere to live.

Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis summed the situation up nicely: "Most single homeless people have little chance of acquiring public sector accommodation and finding a flat in the private rented sector can be a complex and expensive option. They need advice and help, but in many areas of the country, these specialist services are simply not there." Regular readers of the blog will know that one of the things that I love is innovation. In its simplest form this can be described as new approaches to existing problems and that’s exactly what Abodes Singles does.

The way that the scheme works is that THT will partner with private landlords. Between us we select and find good quality and affordable properties. With our size and influence we can then attach public sector services such as lettings, management and rent loss cover to these private sector properties. This makes it a far more attractive proposition to private sector landlords and brings them into the scheme. We then take these properties out into the marketplace and match them with suitable tenants, who might have found them too expensive in the private marketplace. It’s a great example of how public private initiatives with charity involvement can create new solutions. It’s almost enough to make you think that the Big Society could work after all...

But don’t take my word for it. Make your own judgements. This is the story of how Jeremy* came to be the first young person we helped through this project and what it means for him.

Jeremy came to Abodes Singles from a referral made by Trafford Council's Aftercare Team. He has been known to services since he was three-years-old, when he accidently locked himself and his dog out of the family home and was unable to wake his Mum. A concerned neighbour contacted the Police and Jeremy's social service journey began.

Jeremy stayed with mum until he was ten-years-old when social services felt greater intervention was needed. Separated from his sisters, Jeremy and his brother moved from foster family to foster family as they couldn’t settle throughout the year. Eventually Jeremy’s paternal grandmother said that he could go to live with her when he was 12 years old so that things could be more stable.
When Jeremy was 15 his grandmother sadly passed away and he went to live with his stepfather, however this did not last too long. Relationships were hard and this pressure was too much for everyone to take, and for the past few years now Jeremy has been sleeping on friends' sofas and floors.
Jeremy is slowly re-building his relationship with his mum and they get on better then ever, but he explains that he never wanted to put pressure on her by moving back home as he doesn’t want her to become ill again. 
Now he’s all packed and just before he moves into his own new home, Jeremy says that it feels weird yet really exciting. He says he can’t wait to cook in his own kitchen and finally have somewhere to call his own. Since accepting the property he has already applied for a job close to his new flat and is looking into applying to the Prince’s Trust.

He now says that his plans for the future are to enjoy his new home, continue to look for a job and to learn to drive now that he has somewhere safe and stable to study.
Landlords and supporting agencies wishing to learn more about the opportunities available through Abodes Singles can contact Holly Wrigley at Trafford Housing Trust on 0300 777 7777 or email her on holly.wrigley@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk

*Details have been changed to preserve anonymity.

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