From night shelter to longer-term accommodation

Fred* first came to us as a rough sleeper in 2016. He was assessed and began staying with us at our Night Shelter on York Road. Fred was very grateful to have a roof over his head and conducted himself brilliantly during his stay at the Night Shelter, attending workshops, looking at housing options and was always friendly towards staff. Due to this he was given the option to progress through our move-on properties.
 
He firstly moved into Fairfax Road and continued in the same vein, helping with jobs around the property and taking a keen interest in the garden! He continued to attend workshops regularly and felt ready to begin searching for employment again.

Due to Fred's actions and his general conduct it was felt he was ready to progress to our Portugal Road property. This property has the least support and is kept for clients who are working or are searching for work. Whilst Fred was searching for employment he continued to help with jobs around our various properties and kept himself active and engaged.
 
In due course he was able to find employment again and began working full time. He paid his rent consistently and began being supported to search for his own, longer-term accommodation. He identified some properties with Greenoak Housing association as a desired destination and completed an application to them. We were able to provide a glowing character reference for Fred and he was soon accepted.

In March of 2019 Fred was able to move into his first long- term property since 2016, employed full time and ready to continue without our support.


*Fred is a name given to this client to ensure anonymity of the person who we are refering to. Full permission was obtained by the writer of this article to share this story with you.