Accommodation Options

You are welcome to discuss your accommodation options at anytime with the Pathway Accommodation Officer. Please contact your Pathway Worker to arrange an appointment

Leaving care to live independently

If there is a Care Order in place this would normally last until you are 18 and so Children's Social Care would have to be in agreement for you to leave care to live independently before this time.  The only exception would be if a Court agreed to the Care Order being discharged and this would only happen if they were certain that you could look after yourself and live independently. 

If there is no Care Order in place and you are voluntarily accommodated, you may be able to leave care to live independently from the age of 16, although it is important that you do not leave before you feel ready to go it alone. You need the best chance possible of feeling settled and making a success of your adult life.  What we do know is that young people who leave care too soon often find this much harder than they thought it would be.  We also know that young people who stay with their carers until 18 or beyond, often do better in life.

 Talk to your pathway worker for further information and to work out the best option to suit your life and ambition.

Taster Flat - Give it a try

The Pathway Team have a 1 bedroom taster flat to give you the experience of living independently for 4 weeks. The Pathway team and other agencies will visit you in the flat on a regular basis and do independence work with you.

After 4 weeks, you will return to your foster placement, staying put arrangement or resettlement. The Pathway Accommodation officer will talk with about your experience, ask your views and check if there are any independence skills that you need support to develop before you leave care.

 

Once you are ready to leave care, it will be discussed with you what sort of accommodation you want to move in to. There are different types of places you can live:

Staying Put

You may be able to ‘stay put’ with foster carers in your current foster placement from the age of 18 up until 21 years old.

 

Trainer flats - The Pathway team run a number of trainer flats for young people that are under 18 years old.

These provide a similar experience to living in your own flat but with additional support from the Pathway team.

 

 

Tier 1 Accommodation

Howe hill for Young people is a hostel specifically for young people aged 16-21.

• It is staffed 24 hours a day & you will have a key worker
• Howe Hill Hostel provides a youth education programme and support to young people to develop their independent living skills and achieve their long-term goals.
• When you are ready for more independence, your support worker will discuss with you and your pathway worker your next move: for example to SASH, The Scarcroft Project or Southlands.

 

Tier 2 Accommodation

 Supported Lodgings (SASH).

• SASH offer young people a room in a hosts home for up to two years. SASH support young people to access education, training or employment and to gain the skills and self-confidence to move on to independent living.
• The host acts as a mentor to help the young person acquire the knowledge and skills they need to become independent.
• The young person will also be allocated a worker from SASH who will help work on the goals to achieve independence.

 SASH are also able to provide Nightstop – an emergency service which helps young people at a time of crisis.

 

The Scarcroft Project

is a 9 bed supported housing project that provides accommodation and support to 16-19 year olds. Support is provided to build up the necessary skills in order to progress to gaining your own independent accommodation.

Southlands Road

is run by Foundation. Is a 5 bed supported project that provides accommodation and support for 16-21 year olds. Support is provided to build up the necessary skills in order to progress to gaining your own independent accommodation.