The Access Project

KCAH runs a temporary housing project for single people. It is called the "Access Project".

Single homeless people rarely have priority need for Council Housing, and this leaves them having to cope for themselves in finding new accommodation. Where there is no drug, alcohol or substance dependence and the client is capable of living independently, the Access Project may be able to help with accommodation.

Our practice in the Access Project is to place people into shared houses. These each accommodate 4 to 6 people and each person has their own locked bedroom. The kitchen and the bathroom are shared with the other tenants and each client is responsible for keeping these areas and the common areas of the property clean and tidy. Occasionally, there will also be a common lounge and a garden.

Most of our Access clients are men, which reflects the main group of people needing help. However, we do have one property assigned exclusively to women.

Clients are offered help while they are in the shared house and housing benefit is claimed with the Housing and Resettlement staff. Advice can be given in other matters such as house management, budgeting and debt handling but clients are particularly helped and challenged to find long term accommodation of their own.

Part of the funding for the Access Project comes from Supporting People, which is a department in Kingston Council.  Over the past few years, the level of support that we provide has become more closely monitored. There are five outcomes that we are aiming to achieve with our Support Plans. These are: 

• Achieve economic well-being
• Enjoy life and achieve
• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Make a positive contribution

  With these outcomes in mind, I have created a new support plan that encompasses all of these aspects. I have arranged the plan with ten different categories.  We work with the tenants to ensure that all issues are dealt with in a way that the tenant is happy with. Our categories are - Housing, Family, Employment Status, Education and Training, Health, Drugs and Alcohol, Finances, Criminal Record, Independent Living and Social Networks. We aim to help people to maximise their income by helping with their benefits. We help them to set up bank accounts and to save towards moving on.  We link in with medical professionals, counsellors and mental health specialists where appropriate. We can refer tenants to family solicitors to help them gain access to their children. We encourage tenants to get involved with the running of the Access Project. We have tenants who work for us on a voluntary basis. If the tenant wants to gain work experience, we can help to refer them to other agencies to do voluntary work, if they are unable to help here at KCAH.  The support that we provide varies according to each tenant. Each week, a new support need is identified and we are constantly learning new skills and developing new networks. The role of Housing and Resettlement Officer is constantly evolving. 

So far, the support plans have been very successful. We are finding out things about our tenants that we would not have known using the old support guidelines.

 Vicky Hudson Senior Housing and Resettlement Officer

For more information, please contact Vicky Hudson (vicky.h@kcah.co.uk).