The UK Coalition on Older Homelessness

The UK Coalition on Older Homelessness: "Supported Accommodation - London - 217 Harrow Road (St. Mungo's Housing Association) [Supported Accommodation index]

St. Mungo's is a voluntary sector housing association that was set up in 1969 to provide housing for homeless people in London. Today, it is the largest voluntary sector homelessness agency in the capital, offering a range of services including outreach work, resettlement support and a wide variety of housing options to homeless people of all ages.
217 Harrow Road

217 Harrow Road is one of St. Mungo's 23 hostels and it works specifically with men over the age of 50, many of whom would not normally access mainstream hostel provision for fear of violence and intimidation. The project is located in Westminster, Central London. The project changed its status from a registered care home to a direct access hostel funded by the Rough Sleepers' Unit (RSU) in November 2000. Its aim is to house older entrenched rough offering access to primary and specialist health care and resettlement services as well as providing accommodation.
The hostel can accommodate up to 41 individuals in separate rooms. It accepts new referrals 24 hours a day, although all referrals to the 31 rooms on the first floor must come from Street Outreach Teams. Westminster Social Services has referral rights to the 10 rooms on the second floor that are more suitable for those needing intensive life skills training. The project provides breakfast and an evening meal. Hot drinks are also available at all times. Residents are allowed to drink alcohol in their own rooms and in two of the communal spaces. Another lounge is designated as a 'dry' area.
Each resident has a keyworker from the staff team who works with him or her to develop an individual action plan. Accommodation is provided under the terms of a licence agreement and the length of stay in the hostel is flexible, though the intention is to facilitate resettlement after 18 months to three years wherever possible.
The residents

All the residents are over 50 years old and the vast majority of those referred by the Street Outreach Teams are of white UK origin. All 31 residents on the first floor have a recent history of sleeping rough. Some have become homeless recently, through loss of housing or relationship breakdown, although a considerable number of residents have long histories of rough sleeping. Approximately half of the residents have serious alcohol problems and about a third have mental and/ or physical health needs that require primary health care.
The staff

The staff team consists of 20 full-time. Workers have a variety of skills and backgrounds and have received different levels of in-house training. Harrow Road has a project manager a deputy manager, 12 daytime project workers, four night workers, a resettlement worker and two cleaning posts. A St. Mungo's activities worker currently provides activities both in one-to-one and group sessions. At least four staff are on duty during the day and two workers provide night cover.
The project has strong links with health care providers. Nurses from the Health Support Team (HST) visit on a weekly basis, assisting GP registration and providing primary health care to residents. Hostel staff refer individuals to the Community Mental Health Team St. Mungo's Substance Use Worker where necessary. Both of these will visit residents at the hostel by appointment.
Outcomes

The project was validated by Supporting People in 2004. St. Mungo's feels that Harrow Road has generally been successful in attracting and retaining its target client group and resettlement into appropriate long-term housing is beginning to take place. It is likely that other residents, especially some of those with chronic alcohol problems, will need to move into registered care homes.
Funding from Help the Aged enabled part of the ground floor of Harrow Road to be converted into a flexible drop-in centre that can accommodate up to three rough sleepers overnight. This will effectively serve as a halfway house between the streets and the hostel for the most anxious and service-resistant rough sleepers. It is intended that as these people access meals and other facilities in the main part of the project, they can observe the hostel and its residents. As their trust in the project develops, beds become free and Housing Benefit claims processed, it is hoped that they will then move into the first floor beds.
Funding and future developments

Harrow Road is funded through a combination of residents' Housing Benefit and Supporting People.
Distinctive features of 217 Harrow Road

* Direct access, via Street Outreach Teams and Westminsters Building Based Services. team
* Accommodation provided in individual rooms for a flexible period up to three years
* Alcohol permitted in bedrooms and one communal lounge
* Night Centre that provides gradual access for anxious rough sleepers

Contact details

For more details of the work of St. Mungo's, visit its web site at: http://www.mungos.org "