Derventio’s flagship Derby homelessness project shortlisted for major national award

A flagship project helping provide homes for vulnerable people who would otherwise be sleeping rough in Derby has been shortlisted for a major national housing award.

The Home4Me project delivered by Derventio Housing Trust places people into highly supported accommodation when they would otherwise be sleeping on the streets.

Derventio Housing Trust provides 24 accommodation units to fulfil its Home4Me project, which has been so successful it has been nominated in the Homelessness Project of the Year category of the UK Housing Awards.

As part of the project, people sleeping rough in Derby are referred to Derventio Housing Trust by Derby City Council’s Rehousing Engagement Support Team (REST) which is managed by Derby Homes.

Demand for Home4Me has been so high that Derventio Housing Trust added six units of accommodation to the scheme this year, in one and two bed properties dispersed around Derby.

The Home4Me project works with some of society’s most in need, including those sectioned under the Mental Health Act; people leaving prison, or hospital, and those with complex challenges. The Bridge – an offshoot of Home4Me – gives people with even more complex challenges the chance to trial living in supported housing, with six rooms ringfenced for people who have been in prison.

Derventio Housing Trust provides a high level of support to Home4Me residents through its dedicated housing and support officers, who can help residents with anything including GP appointments, benefits advice, hospital appointments, advocacy services, safeguarding meetings, and help engaging with services around drug and alcohol use.

Sarah Hernandez, managing director for Derventio Housing Trust, said residents were also supported against predatory “cuckoos” – people who prey on the vulnerable by winning their trust before starting to control their lives and eventually, often kicking them out of their homes:

It’s very serious, dealing with that kind of thing. A lot of people in our Home4Me scheme have quite high safeguarding needs, and we work closely with the council and the police to keep people safe.

Sarah said Derventio Housing Trust was delighted that the Home4Me project had been shortlisted in such prestigious national awards. She said:

Every human being deserves to have a place to live and a life that works for them. As a sector of society, those people exist who would sleep rough, and we need to have a way of preventing that. You give a person somewhere to live and they can start to work on all the things that are causing them to engage in certain behaviours.

Without Home4Me, there would certainly be more people sleeping on the streets of Derby, in and out of prison, A&E and hospital. It’s much better for everyone in the city if there aren’t people visible on the streets.

We feel absolutely thrilled that Home4Me has been shortlisted for this award. We’d like to give a big shout out to Derby Homes. They don’t just fund the project, they really work as a team with Derventio Housing Trust, with weekly meetings where each individual is discussed. It’s testament to a great partnership that the project is one of the finalists in this prestigious national awards.

James Joyce, Head of Housing Options and Homelessness at Derby Homes said:

We are so pleased the excellent work that Derventio Housing Trust is doing has been recognised by the UK Housing Awards. Home4me and The Bridge are projects delivered by Derventio Housing Trust and supported by Derby Homes’ work on behalf of Derby City Council. Both projects offer accommodation and personalised support that is unique to the needs of each individual and go much further than just providing a roof over one’s head, they really empower residents, giving them the confidence and life-skills to help them succeed at living independently.

This project represents partnership working at its best, strengthening the hard work that Derventio, Derby City Council and Derby Homes already to do to really help break the cycle of homelessness in Derby.

The UK Housing Awards are being held in Manchester on November 26.