Housing Support Officer: GAIL MORRIS

What is Housing Support?
The Project has recently started a housing support scheme, which supports young people between the ages of 16 – 25 who face housing issues.

How the scheme works?
The main aim of the supported housing is to help encourage, educate, and support young people to start living independently.

There are 3 bed sits that are used within the scheme that become vacant on a 6 month cycle!! The persons within these bed sits will have the opportunity to take up the support they need from myself (housing support officer).

Any one can access the housing support service from me, or by speaking to anyone of the youth workers within the project. You don’t have to be living within the bed sits.

Advice and guidance is offered to anyone and not just on housing issues, there could be a number of issues that you are experiencing e.g. benefits, employment, single parent, general advice to point you in the right direction.

I may not know all the answers!! But I will certainly find out more for you.

The scheme aims to house the young person for up to 6 months, while working closely with them to develop their skills? To further gain more permanent housing through other housing agencies or independently?

Support you receive:
We work along side a number of agencies such as VAMT, they are a volunteering agency within Merthyr, Tydfil Training, Merthyr Council, Housing Association and Wales and West.

With all of the above agencies named there are usually a lot of forms to be completed and we are able to provide the support for them too.

Once we have been able to put a programme together for the tenant, with the relevant agencies they will be able to go on and gain qualifications and maybe employment.

Maybe the programme that we set out is not the right one; so we will go through the process again and find a more suitable one.

We give advice and guidance relating to Housing Issues, to Young People who have left their home of residence for what ever reason. This advice covers a number of core areas;

1. Housing – resolving existing tenancies, finding new housing
   
2. Young Peoples issues – schools and education, health and wellbeing
   
3. Benefits and welfare issues
   
4. General emotional support and non-directive support

Working With Other Agencies

1. Housing – The local authority and Housing Associations
   
2. The voluntary sector – General advice services and specialist services
   
3. Education, training and employment – Provision for young people and adults
   
4. Health – GPs, Health Visitors, Community Mental Health Teams
   
5. Social Services – Support on issues affecting young people
   
6. Legal – the courts, solicitors, the police and court welfare officers
   

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT WE DO OR WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN WORK MORE CLOSELY TOGETHER

PLEASE CONTACT ME ON: 01443 692600.

Aberfan Police Station P.C. Archer and P.C. Thomas. and contact number 01443 690806.

This page updated: 04 September 2008