Groups unite in new service to help homeless - The Redditch Standard

Groups unite in new service to help homeless

Redditch Editorial 24th Oct, 2015 Updated: 18th Oct, 2016   0

A NEW ‘floating’ support service to help young people who are either homeless or facing homelessness has been launched.

Raft brings three organisations together to assist 18 to 23-year-olds who need support in maintaining a tenancy.

It is being led by the North Worcestershire Basement Project, which will cover Bromsgrove and the Wyre Forest, Nightstop, which will cover Redditch, and Rooftop Housing, responsible for Worcester, Wychavon and Malvern Hills. It will be funded by Worcestershire County Council.

Those eligible for floating support from Raft include those living on their own who have their own tenancy, those who are ‘sofa surfing’ with friends because they are homeless, single parents living in accommodation that is not their family home and couples in that same situation who are both between 18 and 23.




Young people participating in the scheme will be assessed, must be willing to engage and, after agreeing a support plan, must keep appointments with their support worker.

They will be offered both one-to-one assistance and group work sessions so they can reach their agreed goals and each individual’s plan will be tailored to suit their own needs and situation.


Help will be given in a variety of areas, including literacy and numeracy, time and money management, promoting healthy lifestyle, use of technology, planning and problem-solving, personal confidence and self-esteem and empathy and managing feelings.

Many of those being helped by the scheme will be NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and Raft will also help young people find and apply for jobs, education or training, including CV writing and preparing for interviews.

Rebekah Bott, from Nightstop, said: “It’s brilliant – we have been doing this sort of thing for a long time, so it’s nice to be involved with other people.

“It’s the same as what we have always done but in a partnership.”

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