Need
Persons referred to our service are homeless & often the most marginalised, experiencing acute debt or hardship. While the number of households we have helped into accommodation over the last 3 years has increased consistently, our funding has largely remained static. We have had to seek out new ways to sustainably meet this demand & respond to the needs of our clients.
Solution
Consultation with our clients has revealed that the majority require most assistance in finding and setting up a new tenancy or some initial ad hoc support to ensure that it is a success fron the start. For those that do need more help, there is often a delay between being rehoused & subsequently receiving a programme of support at a time when they may need it most. Volunteers will be instrumental in increasing our capacity, improving the experiences of our service users and bridging this gap.
Aims
To increase the resources and assistance available to Homeless Persons in our areas
Activities
» Provide pre-tenancy workshops for service-users tackling issues that lead to homelessness.
» Provide more structured help to look for accommodation & identify suitable properties, including guidance on contacting landlords & viewings.
Success wil be greater frequency of drop-in sessions & pre-tenancy workshops to accommodate 30-40% growth in referrals to the service and the removal of waiting times >1 week.
To bridge the gap identified between securing a suitable tenancy & receiving support to maintain it.
Activities
» Volunteers available to assist with referrals to furniture projects & assist in completing benefit applications to secure & set up a tenancy.
» Volunteers to support clients when they are setting up utilities, & in accessing local amenities.
Success will be all applicants allocated a volunteer mentor from initial referral until re-settled into a tenancy & more clients successfully re-housed in tenancies lasting >6mths.
Provide opportunities for volunteers from the community to gain skills transferable to employment.
Activities
» Support volunteers to gain NVQ2 in Advice and Guidance.
» Provide volunteers with all core training accessed by employees.
All volunteers achieving NVQ level 2 or other similar vocational qualification and the experience of volunteers to be one which is valuable and positive.
Impact
The project will improve the access to housing & experience of those who are Homeless in Bolton, Bury & Rochdale. It will help those facing years waiting in inappropriate temporary accommodation or hostels to tackle the barriers to moving into a home in the private-rented sector. We will demonstrate the success of this project by monitoring the number of applicants to the scheme who are successfully re-housed. Success will be a 10% increase in clients securing tenancies & >90% lasting>6mths
Risk
We run the risk that volunteers can move on, which may have an impact on our ability to deliver the project. We aim to overcome this risk by recruiting up to 12 volunteers across the 3 areas & a volunteer co-ordinator who could provide cover when necessary. We have well-established relationships with the community & voluntary sectors in our areas & will utilise these to ensure our project is actively promoted among individuals registered as looking for volunteering opportunities.
Reporting
A quarterly electronic newsletter will be sent to donors by e-mail. We will feedback statistics regarding the outcomes and successed of the project ,any future plans and any changes made to the project via our website and Twitter. A more in-depth performance report will be provided every 6 months.
Budget - Project Cost: £70,752
| |
Amount |
Heading |
Description |
| |
£7,016 |
Operational Activity Costs |
Office, Heat, Lighting, Cleaning, Stationary, Postage, Printing & Insurances |
| |
£63,736 |
Volunteer Support costs |
Recruitment, Marketing, Volunteer Co-ordinator/Training, Travel, CRBs |
Location
The Bond Board Ltd is a registered charity working in Bolton, Bury and Rochdale to help people on low incomes who are homeless or at risk of homelessness access private-rented housing. The work funded by this project will enable those in greatest need to to benefit from increased advice and support to be re-housed in the private-rented sector.
Beneficiaries
Person’s referred to our service have either lost, are threatened with losing, or have never had their own accommodation. Our service offers private landlords a Bond Guarantee in place of the normal cash deposit that they require. Therefore, lifting the major barrier into the private-rented sector for our client group. The work funded is providing stable accommodation from which to access other services, and facilitate greater participation in the local community.
Why Us?
The Bond Board currently works in partnership with many third sector and statutory agencies and organisations to ensure that we are working towards joint aims and priorities to tackle homelessness in our areas. To deliver this project we would work directly in partnership with local community & volunteer services to continue to recruit individuals to give their time to support the project. Working alongside these partners will enable us ensure positive outcomes for our clients & volunteers.
Read more about the Charity running this project.
People
Andrew Beeput
Chief Officer with over 20 years experience in housing, whose role is to manage and co-ordinate all of the Bond Board's activites across our areas.
The Bond Board Bolton
The Bond Board began working in Bolton over 15 years ago. The staff team has a wealth of knowledge with over 45 Years combined experience in housing.
The Bond Board Bury
The Bond Board has been established in Bury for over 8 years. The existing team has over 40 years combined experience working in housing & support.
The Bond Board Rochdale
Our staff in Rochdale have over 50 years experience in this sector & are involved in the delivery or a number of housing related projects in this area
