More than £2.5 million has been invested in accommodation to support vulnerable young adults in Herefordshire.
This has been made possible through the previous government’s Single Homeless Accommodation Programme (SHAP).
Following announcement of the funding back in September 2022, Herefordshire Council has worked in partnership with Homes England and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government* to deliver additional housing capacity for young adults aged 18-25 who are at risk of homelessness.
We have worked with key registered providers across the county to secure self-contained, accessible, one-bed accommodation for 15 young adults. This has contributed to a significant drop in the number of rough sleepers across Herefordshire.
SHAP units have an allocated outreach worker who supports, advises and guides the tenants to become ‘tenancy ready’ for future permanent affordable housing, via Herefordshire’s choice-based lettings’ online platform known as HomePoint. The support is person centred and bespoke to the individual’s needs. It can include help with managing finances, accommodation, employment and support appointments along with encouraging them to integrate into their local community.
Councillor Carole Gandy, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing, said:
No-one in our society should have to live a life on the streets and our Housing teams work tirelessly to reduce homelessness and rough sleeping in the county.
The SHAP funding has made a real difference and enables us to support a group of vulnerable young adults to have safe, self-contained accommodation while we work with them to enable them to thrive in the future.
One of the young people who benefited from SHAP housing said:
The property that SHAP has placed me in has been amazing. Having a place to come home to after uni and to call a temporary home and the stability whilst waiting for a Homepoint property to be available has been invaluable to me. I’ve been able to develop a routine and this has been massively beneficial to my mental health as well as my life as a whole.
The support both into the property and whilst I’ve been in the property has also been incredible. My schedule has interfered with having many face-to-face meetings with my support worker. But despite this, any time I had any issues or questions I could text, call or email them for support and they were always available for help and advice or with making a plan for the property repair team to come and see me.
* Previously known as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities