Supported Housing

What is Supported Housing?

Supported housing is a housing scheme that combines housing provision, support and sometimes, where required, care services. Supported housing schemes can be long-term or short-term. Long-term schemes aim to support people to live independently, and short-term schemes tend to focus on helping people develop key skills that will help them move into mainstream accommodation later down the line. Key skills include managing money, mental health, alcohol and drug misuse, everyday life skills and access to education, employment and training.

Supported housing aims to support people to live independently, whilst encouraging residents to be sociable, part of their community and to preserve their dignity through adequate living conditions. Supported housing schemes are available to homeless people, those with learning difficulties, care leavers, elderly people, those with substance misuse problems, and so on. 

Supported housing may be hostels for emergency accommodation, refuges, sheltered housing or long-term accommodation schemes. 

The services we provide as part of supported housing include:

• Money management guidance
• Mental health support
• Support and advice with alcohol and substance misuse
• Support with everyday life skills and activities such as shopping, cleaning and cooking
• Help accessing education, employment and training
• Help integrating into the community and reducing social inclusion
• Access to a support worker with one-on-one meetings and a dedicated support plan

Short term supported housing is designed for people who need temporary support outside of mainstream housing whilst they develop essential key skills, gain access to employment or overcome short term barriers that are stopping them from living independently. For example, a person fleeing domestic violence would need temporary short term supported housing in the form of a refuge. Longer-term supported housing is designed for people who need ongoing support to live independently. This could be an elderly person or a person with a physical disability who needs regular support with things like cooking, cleaning and shopping, or it could be someone with learning disabilities who needs support with managing their finances.