South Ayrshire Council Department of Social Work, Housing and Health

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South Ayrshire CouncilDepartment ofSocial Work,
Housing and Health

• Throughcare Support Team Homeless Service
• Working in Partnership

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So, who are we?
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Throughcare
Jo Wallace Admin. Assistant Allison
Taylor Senior Clerical Assist. Neal
Tait Clerical Assist.
Jackie Flynn Mental Health Nurse
Michelle McDowall Literacy Worker
Sessional Staff X 8
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Homeless Service
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What do we do?

• The Throughcare Support Team is a mainstream
  Social Work Team
• We seek to provide a service to young people aged
  between 15 21 years who are/were accommodated
  or looked after by the local authority and also
  to vulnerable young people who are homeless or
  threatened by homelessness
• We work in partnership with Children Family
  Services, Youth Support, Careers Scotland,
  Homeless Service, Private Sector Care Providers,
  Private Landlords, Schools, Health Services, and
  Training Providers to support these young people

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• The Homeless Service has a legal duty to provide
  a service to homeless people, and to prevent
  homelessness wherever possible by providing a
  high level of advice and assistance
• We aim to provide a service, which minimizes the
  number of moves (to different types of
  accommodation) a person may make whilst being
  accommodated under homeless legislation
• We endeavour to provide tenancy support to all
  people who apply for accommodation under homeless
  legislation
• We actively encourage partnership working and
  work closely with Throughcare, Barnardos,
  Children Families Team, Offender Assessment
  Unit, Criminal Justice Social Work, Community
  Care and Mental Health Team

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Together we seek to-

• Assess young peoples needs and where appropriate,
  support them to sustain family relationships and
  accommodation at home. Where a young person is in
  housing need, however, we endeavour to provide
  them with safe, secure and suitable accommodation
  that meets their needs.
• We aim to provide sound advice and guidance on a
  range of issues linked to independent living.
  This includes, tenancy management, training and
  employment, budgeting, practical living skills
  and being a good neighbour.
• We work in partnership with other agencies to
  ensure that young people receive a service that
  is individualised and takes account of their
  unique situation.

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So how do we do it?
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Joint Interviews
Young Person
Homeless Officer
Mediation Coordinator
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Why Joint Interviews?

• Early Intervention
• Allows us to jointly assess young persons needs
• Young person is less likely to feel unsupported
  and isolated
• Allows us to prepare individual packages of
  support that reflect young persons needs
• Where appropriate, it allows us to establish and
  promote contact between a young person and their
  family/friends
• Allows us to fulfil our statutory duties in terms
  of - Children (Scotland) Act, 1995 Housing
  (Scotland) Act, 1987 Part II Homeless Persons as
  amended by Part 1 (Scotland) Act 2001 and the
  Regulations of Care (Scotland) Act, 2001

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Youth Housing Support Group
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Where does Mediation come into it?
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Young Peoples Experiences

• Leave care/home at a much earlier age (16-17
  years)
• Often because of family relationship problems
• Often unplanned and not thought through
• Often no income and little or no knowledge of
  benefits system
• Often dealing with complex and difficult issues
• Little or no support from family
• Little or no chance of returning home
• Little or no knowledge of homeless system and
  often holding unrealistic expectations of housing
  options available
• Often isolated, emotionally upset and in crisis

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Referral Sources

Joint Interviews 16
Social Work Teams Other Sources 25
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Young People Offered Mediation ServiceJune 2006
March 2007
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Of those offered the servicewhat was the
response?
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Outcomes?

• Of the young people offered the service, the
  number of young people who did not enter the
  homeless system was 15
• The number of young people who gained Homeless
  from Home status was 12
• The number of young people who remained in BB or
  Hostel accommodation was 14

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What does that mean?

• Young Person
• Reduces isolation for young person
• Reduces likelihood of linking in with negative
  peer group
• Supports relationships with parents/siblings/other
  relatives
• Allows time for young person to prepare for
  independent living
• More conducive to obtaining and sustaining
  employment or education
• Financially supported

• Local Authority
• Allows time for young persons maturity to
  develop and for the local authority to assess
  their needs/plan to address these
• Supports young people at home and helps prepare
  them for independent living thereby increasing
  the chance of them coping successfully with a
  tenancy
• Targets housing stock/resources effectively,
  thereby reducing costs
• Meets statutory requirements

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Beyond Mediation
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Ongoing Support

• Throughcare Duty Service
• Sessional Support Staff
• Support Workers and Social Workers
• Other Service Providers
• Youth Housing Support Group/Reviews/Case
  Discussions
• Summer Programme
• Basic Skills Groups
• Links with landlords/supported carers
• Development of housing options

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Thankyou