May 03, 2017
|By aissagallie
|
Our new service in Barnsley is a partnership of three organisations; Interserve, Touchstone and Foundation. Led by InterServe Barnsley Futures is the result of a collaborative and innovative bid, developed to meet the needs of an increasingly complex group of homeless individuals.
The bid and the resulting service pools each organisations specialist experience to create a single service, amalgamating five former services run by a range of organisations. Barnsley Futures provides customers and stakeholders a much clearer support and accommodation pathway, designed for individuals who have complex needs and are over 25. This accommodation pathway includes a range of options such as hostel provision, dispersed managed accommodation and community/floating support. Holden House hostel contains 28 flats and across the whole service there are just under 200 units of support at any one time.
Based on the MEAM (Making Every Adult Matter) approach the service contains a number of core and added value features, including:
• Navigators who will provide continuity for customers by supporting them throughout their journey in the service
• Housing First principle, minimising the number of moves that customers have to make
• Drop ins and surgeries, some of which will be co-located with other services
• A range of volunteering options, including the peer led groups and enhanced engagement through peer mentors
• Interserve’s learning and employment offer
Barnsley futures went live on the 1st of April. Foundation deliver the housing management element of the service and the majority of the support. Nikeisha Bragger, supported by Simon Featherstone lead on the operational delivery with the workforce made up of staff who have been transferred across from a range of organisations.
Foundation welcomes the Barnsley futures team to the Foundation family!