Your Place’s Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme (SHAP) Project – Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
Who we are: Your Place is a small charity working in Newham. Each person who comes through our doors is guided to meet their own needs through one-to-one and peer-led support. With specialist teams, including employment, training, education, women’s development, intensive support and a compassionate community around them, residents make their own journey to independent living – and to a better, more sustainable and longer-term home.
Homelessness has been increasing and is now at unprecedented levels in London. More than twice as many people are facing homelessness in Newham than in any other borough of the UK, with 1 in 20 people facing homelessness here (source: Shelter). Last year 72% of people were sleeping rough before arriving at Your Place, a figure that has more than doubled since the previous year.
London Councils have highlighted the temporary accommodation pressures in the capital which have reached a record high.
Newham’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) figures show that in the last decade, rents here have increased 56% while house prices rose by 89%, yet wages only rose by 20% during this period.
Why is this a challenge for Your Place?
This escalating crisis with over 17,000 people estimated to be homeless or in temporary accommodation provided by the council, means that it is difficult for our residents to find a home to meet their needs within the borough when they are ready to move on. The crisis is having a huge impact on both the residents and the charity.
What are the “move-on” flats at Your Place, and why are they important?
Across the country homelessness charities like Your Place provide a temporary safe place to live and one-to-one support with pathways to independence and a better place. Long-term accommodation with support is not something which is provided at Your Place, but the Greater London Authority (GLA), under its Single Homeless Accommodation Programme (SHAP), has recently commissioned the charity to provide a new and much-needed long-term supported accommodation service for people with complex needs from across London, who have had experience of sleeping rough. We are delighted therefore to work with the GLA to create a new project, providing longer-term housing.
This new project was designed to meet a gap within London hostel provision, identified through work commissioned by London Councils and the GLA, for people who would need long-term accommodation in self-contained spaces, and the potential for companionship with others.
This initiative involves restructuring the current 25 “move on flats” into self-contained units with support services and communal space. Please view our January 2024 news update on the project.
Why are a small number of residents being asked to leave?
Work on the “move-on” flats, which provided transitional accommodation for 25 residents, is due to commence in November 2024. It is not possible for the residents to remain in the flats during this time. We have been working since June to support this small number of residents to move into more sustainable accommodation which meets their needs in the community, with a planned move-out date in November 2024.
The housing crisis in London means that some of the residents impacted may have been unable to find the type of accommodation they are seeking but we have supported all residents to find at least one option for housing.
Your Place informed residents of the planned changes in June this year, five months before the planned project closure. Formal notices were issued three months in advance of the project closure date, in early August anticipating the project closure in early November. This additional notice was issued to support residents in their search for new housing. The residents in this service are Licensees and we are only required to issue 28 days’ notice. We also funded an additional support worker from July to assist these residents in finding housing.
Our support worker is working with a small number of remaining residents, outlining how their salary and/or benefits will work in the private rented sector, ensuring that all have been supported to find housing available to them. Residents have also received significant support from Newham Council who have been assessing those who are in priority need for housing and have helped some residents to be referred into suitable permanent accommodation.
Is Your Place working with companies for profit?
Your Place is a registered charity and a registered social housing provider. The new GLA-funded project will support people who have been rough sleeping over a sustained period of time across London’s boroughs and have been experiencing social isolation. The project will support people who have exhausted all other housing pathway options within their respective boroughs.
As a charity, Your Place does not make any profit; all our resources are used to provide housing and support for individuals who have been affected by homelessness and rough sleeping in London.
Do you support residents when they leave?
Yes, we offer tenancy sustainment support for nine months after our residents leave Your Place, with 97% of our residents going on to successfully sustain their new independent tenancies for six months or more. Please see our article ‘Moving On from Your Place’ for further information.