New Partnership Aims To Prevent Homelessness in East Anglia
• Hopestead and Your Own Place CIC have joined up with a goal of preventing homelessness and supporting people to thrive in their tenancies;
• Through their partnership, bespoke and engaging TILS+ training will be offered to Flagship Group customers from April;
The training has been designed collaboratively with the aim of empowering individuals to overcome barriers and thrive in their tenancies.
A new partnership between charity Hopestead and social enterprise Your Own Place CIC will seek to prevent homelessness and support people to thrive in their tenancies.
The two organisations have teamed up to create bespoke training courses – called TILS+- for Flagship Group customers, that will allow trainees to sustain a tenancy, gain additional independent living skills, and develop financial resilience.
Hopestead, a new charity and part of Flagship Group is offering the sessions, which will begin in April. The sessions will be open to all Flagship Group customers:
The interactive, engaging, and – above all – fun workshops have been developed over the last year through close collaboration between the Hopestead and Your Own Place CIC teams. Themes covered by the training will include tenancy responsibilities and money management.
The training – called TILS+ (Tenancy and Independent Living Skills +) – has been tailored specifically for Flagship Group customers and will combine both face to face and digital learning, in line with any government restrictions at the time due to the pandemic.
It is suitable for people of all ages and in the many different situations that people find themselves in needing help in their tenancy, particularly with the challenges that many of us have faced over the last year.
Hopestead’s vision is to end homelessness in the East of England and central to that is taking steps to mitigate homelessness, long before it becomes a threat. Marie-Claire Delbrouque, MD of Hopestead explained:
“We believe that we need to do more to prevent homelessness, taking action before it becomes a risk. By tackling the root causes of homelessness and empowering people to take control and overcome the barriers that are in their way, we can stop homelessness becoming a reality for so many.
“And, a fundamental aspect of prevention is working to ensure homes are not lost due to rent arrears or a sudden change in circumstances, like so many have faced during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Which is why our new partnership with Your Own Place CIC, a fantastic organisation with which we share common goals, is so crucial. Together, we can offer targeted support to empower people take control of their lives and sustain their housing in the community. Because we believe everyone deserves a place to call home.”
Your Own Place’s goal is to seek new solutions to old homelessness problems, and prevent homelessness. Rebecca White, Chief Executive, said:
“Sometimes an organisation comes along that just chimes with your approach. This was the case with Hopestead. Together we aim to end homelessness. We couldn’t be more delighted to be working with Hopestead for the benefit of Flagship tenants.
“Now more than ever, ending homelessness matters. Now more than ever, people are finding themselves in incredibly precarious situations not of their own making. Through our uniquely innovative and engaging digital and face to face Tenancy & Independent Living Skills Training, we will see tenants feeling more confident with their money, better able to get help, make new connections, feel empowered to solve their own challenges and take steps forward.
“They will know that they are not alone, be able to get things like finances on track, keep their home and avoid future evictions and homelessness.”
Flagship customers interested in finding out more about the workshops should get in touch with their Housing Officer at Flagship Group in the first instance or email Weare@hopestead.org for more information.