Supported Housing

Supported Living

Situated in Laygate, South Shields, Chai House is our 5-bedroom property regulated by South Tyneside Council as a large House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO). However, this is where the similarity ends with other HMOs in the area, as the services provided at Chai House are far more representative of a supported living unit.

Providing more than 60 hours of support over 7 days a week, our specialist team specialise in the field of supported housing, with a bespoke ‘Passport to Independent Living’ programme that continues to be the cornerstone of our work.

Led by our Housing Manager, Chai House is a safe and secure environment, allowing men to transition across the full spectrum of homelessness’ to full, independent living.

When arriving at our property, a resident is perhaps struggling with dependency issues; or dealing with poor mental health. Our Community Support programme allows them to tackle these challenges in a positive and productive way by completing activities like group work and wellbeing support.

Additionally, we have a second property, a “move on” flat which supports graduated wellbeing work and semi-independent living for a further two residents. Over the course of this year, we have extended our working partnership and Hospitality and Hope is now proud to work as an integrated member of the South Tyneside Homeless Strategy Group; supporting the development of wider services that support homeless people.

Although durations of residence vary on a case-by-case basis, in the 2020/21 financial year, Chai House supported 17 adult males who required accommodation and housing support due to homelessness, addictions or poor mental health. Within the next few years, our aim is to increase our occupancy from 7 to 9 residents at a time: further providing a critical stepping stone into independent living.

‘There is now hope of a normal life ahead of me’. 

Case study – Success for Mr T. 

Mr T was not originally from South Tyneside but following a custodial sentence he made the decision not to return to his home area, due to family issues and relationships breakdowns.   

From the outset Mr T showed self-determination and the personal ambition and drive to want to succeed, to get a job and to develop his financial management skills and independent life skills. However, shortly after his tenancy commenced Mr T suffered a close family bereavement.
This impacted on his mental health, and he was understandably very low. At this time Mr T started reconnecting and repairing relationships with family in Liverpool, which proved to be a positive step in managing his grieving process.

We provided additional and intensive support for Mr T including assisting with a self-refer to lifecycles, a mental health and a bereavement support group. Staff also spent a huge amount of time supporting Mr T and promoting his emotional wellbeing.
With our support Mr T completed a tenancy readiness programme and attended educational and employability courses, to develop a career pathway.  This gave Mr T the confidence to apply for and secure employment in the local area.

This step change gave Mr T the belief that his life was now changing for the better and he then decided he was ready to move into his own accommodation and start a fresh chapter in his life.
You may wonder what happened to Mr T, well he continues to work, live well in his own accommodation and has now entered a positive long-term relationship.

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