ALDI CROYDON - PURLEY WAY

Our team of Housing Support Officers (HSO) provide each service user with 2 – 5 hours of support per week. At the initial meeting, the service user and HSO work together to complete a support plan, setting out objectives that the service user works towards. Goals are monitored using the Homelessness Outcome Star which measures progress in 10 key areas, such as the ability to manage money, physical and mental health and coping with difficult social situations. The Foundation provides in-house support services such as specialist counselling and welfare benefits advice. The team also refer service users to other specialist external organisations for complex health care, debt advice, legal advice, voluntary and employment opportunities. As well as providing tenancy support to vulnerable Caridon tenants, the Caridon Foundation accepts referrals from the Council’s Single Homelessness Service. More than 80% of our referrals have complex mental health needs and a further 40% have difficulties with drugs and alcohol. We also house ex-offenders, women fleeing domestic violence and victims of Modern-Day Slavery. As a result, there is a need for us to provide individuals with a truly holistic and tailor-made support service. The cycle of CF Service users stay with our organisation for between 6 months and 2 years, until they are ready for fully independent living. At this point our in-house resettlement officer will make referrals back to the local authority (Fast Track) for permanent affordable social housing. We also have the option of placing our clients into private rented accommodation through Caridon Property. Tenants with high support needs or chronic health conditions will be supported into 24 hour staffed accommodation or sheltered housing.

This project supports the fantastic work that Palmer House does for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. I have been collecting food for this purpose for some ten years! Based in Croydon, Palmer House supports 60 single people up to 65 years of age with complex needs including experience of homelessness or rough sleeping, substance misuse and mental ill health. Customers are referred to Palmer House by the London Borough of Croydon and stay up to two years. The charity empowers them to make decisions about their support, including choosing their Support Worker. This person centred approach enables customers to identify their existing strengths and skills so they can achieve their goals and aspirations. The team at Palmer House believes customers can move beyond their current support needs and achieve their full potential by developing new skills and accessing opportunities. Whilst at Palmer House, customers engage in developing life and independent living skills including developing routine and structure, fostering positive relationships, healthy eating and cooking.

We are a group of local professionals from across the Sutton community who actively work together to plan, deliver and implement projects aimed at achieving positive outcomes for those who live, work and travel to the London Borough of Sutton. Our network draws on the experience, observations and combined expertise of its 30+ members including: Accountants, Analysts, Marketing Directors, Project Managers, Nurses, Social Workers, Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Transport Operatives and Ward Coordinators. We believe that the most effective way to deliver our projects is through partnership working, utilising existing resources to promote a strong and sustainable community culture. By combining our overall skill set with the resources of our partners we are able to deliver and implement new and inventive solutions to the evolving needs of our community. Our sole objective of the network is to support anyone in need, creating a truly inclusive environment.