Housing

Southend YMCA offers supported accommodation for homeless, vulnerable or young people at risk aged 16 – 25. We cannot take pets or couples as we offer single person dwelling.

Access to Southend YMCA accommodation is through the Southend Access gateway referral panel which can be contacted on 0845 6027895 – this mullti-agency panel reviews the needs and aspirations of all potential applicants and matches potential residents to supported housing providers.

Please note there is a shortage of accommodation in the locality in general thus those in most need are prioritized .Where an application is declined reasons and right of appeal is offered.
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Southend YMCA offers the residents additional support to assist them through a range of difficulties or circumstances. Staff are on hand to help during the day between 09.00 and 20.00, 7 days a week, then night support staff are available from 20.00. An additional staff member is always on call should there be an emergency. All residents receive a handbook and additional ongoing information such as local facilties to meet cultural needs.

Housing staff provide a wide ranging services including assisting with benefits, completing forms and applications, budgeting through to developing social skills and coping with a trauma. Each resident’s individual plan is created with a member of staff, who is appointed as their key worker. We use St Mungo’s “Outcomes Star” Plan and the initial action plan clearly identifies both strengths and weaknesses, and where priority support is needed. Care plans are built around these issues and they are addressed at weekly key work sessions which are recorded in their personal file. Weekly counseling with a qualified practitioner is available for those requiring this service.

Residents are encouraged to attend a monthly resident’s meeting or event, whereby they can socialise with other residents and bring any concerns or ideas for improvement to the service, to the Housing Team’s attention. We also facilitate a Youth Board within the building which is Young people lead and very actively encouraged.

Southend YMCA actively supports our young people to move-on to independent living when it is deemed they are ready and able undertake this next step and will organise floating support should we feel the young person will gain from this. We aim for a planned, positive move-on for our former residents and support them to achieve this outcome.

View this information in Urdu / یہ معلومات اردو میں دیکھیں (PDF)
View this information in Albanian / Shikoni këtë informacion në shqip (PDF)
View this information in French / Voir cette information en français (PDF)
View this information in Arabic / أنظر هذه المعلومات باللغة العربي (PDF)
View this information in Polish / Przeczytaj niniejszą informację w języku polskim (PDF)

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Smiles all round - the housing
team
 
New figures released by YMCA England have revealed that Southend YMCA is the top housing provider out of 30 YMCA managed schemes in England. Each month YMCAs are required to submit statistics based on: voids (if a flat is unoccupied), Arrears (rent owed by residents), repairs (work needed on the flats are carried out within a set time), complaints (dealt with and replied to in writing within the set time) and applications (young people applying for housing are interviewed and a decision is made within the set time).

Southend YMCA has not had a void for over 3 years. For the last 12 months Southend YMCA has ranked 1st (or joint first) in the country.

Over 7000 young people are housed by supported accomadation provided by the YMCA, funded by third party organisations, local councils and Supporting People.

Supporting People aims to make sure people get the housing-related support they need to live more independently, avoiding life in a care home or hospital, for example, or life on the street. It gives housing-related support to help them make a success of their tenancies, or to move to independent living from other places such as prison or hospital.
 

Check out the Supporting People Directory for a full details of all support services currently available in Southend.