Emma Project
History of the Emma Project
By 2000 the 700 Club Charity had identified a need to provide some of the Service Users residing within the Grange Road Hostel a ‘next stage’ to independence. The charity leased a two bedroom property from Darlington Borough Council and the local Round Table kindly assisted staff to decorate the property.
During the same period we were approach by the best friend of young lady called Emma who had recently passed away. Not long before Emma died she bought her first house with some new furniture and felt she had finally ‘made it’. Emma made her friend promise that if anything happened to her, all the furniture was to be donated to a local homeless charity, because both girls had had a couple of periods being penniless and street homeless and they wanted to help others.
Two key areas of work emerged from the Emma House. More intermediary accommodation was required to house those who were ready to leave the hostel but not yet ready for independent living. More outreach work was required to support those, in their own homes, with more developed independent living skills.
From here, the Emma Project flourished into what we have today. Sixteen Managed Houses, twelve of which are house shared/bedsits and four family houses, two Taster Flats, thirteen units of Floating Support, four Emergency Rooms and Stop2Night. That’s not to mention the extra services and activities we offer: Mentoring , Daily Living Skills Programme, Book Club, Walking Club, 24 Hour Emergency On Call.
Managed Houses
What do we offer?
Low level supported accommodation with no time constraints on how long you can reside.
We have:
- 33 single person units of accommodation in shared houses
- 4 parent and child units
- 5 units for those working with the Drugs Intervention Team (Smiler House) 6 units for those addressing alcohol issues in conjunction with Darlington’s Community Alcohol Service.
- 8 independent living flats
- 1 three bed family home
- 3 two bed family homes
All accommodation comes furnished to a high standard and is equipped with essential everyday items such as cooker and utensils, fridge freezer, bed, bedding and bedroom furniture.
Staff will assist you moving in and can offer support, advice and guidance on life skills, welfare benefits, move ons and can signpost to other agencies. Assistance is provided to access a range of outside health, care and
support services.
We also offer a 24 Hour Emergency On Call Service where staff can be accessed outside of office hours to deal with emergencies and crises.
How do you access our accommodation?
You need to be interviewed first and an application form filled in with you. A follow up referral will then be made with a professional who works with you, for example First Stop Darlington, Social Services, Connexions, Probation and many more.
If accepted, you will go onto our waiting list, however sometimes accommodation is available immediately. You can view the room before you accept it.
To make an appointment for an interview telephone 01325 489604, the office is open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm.
Smiler House
Smiler House is a five bed house for individuals working with the Drugs Intervention Programme (DIP). DIP work with a wide range of drug misusing offenders. It was found that a high volume of this client group leaving prison each year will need to find accommodation. Smiler House provides short term accommodation for these people and any other person deemed an appropriate referral by DIP. The concept being that more permanent accommodation will be found within a short time. This might be within the other Emma Project Managed Houses, a hostel, private rent, Council or Housing Association
In order to deal with issues such as offending and drug misuse, people need a stable home environment to allow and encourage change and treatment in other areas of their life. Smiler House offers this stable environment.
Smiler House is fully furnished and includes an Emergency Room for the DIP Team to refer to.
Jolliffe House
Do you have a alcohol problem?
Have you become homeless because of your alcohol consumption?
Do you consume more alcohol than the daily recommended intake?
Is alcohol affecting your lifestyle?
Do you want to stop abusing alcohol?
Do you want help in dealing with emotional problems?
Do you want to re-build you confidence and self esteem?
Are you ready to take control of your life?
If the answer is yes, read on…....
What is Jolliffe House?
Jolliffe House is a Damp House for people who are wishing to take control of the amount of alcohol they consume. It offers short term accommodation, providing you with a place to stay to turn your life around. Each resident has a room of their own, but share a bathroom, kitchen and a community lounge.
How long can you live there?
Jolliffe House has a maximum stay of 12 months, during which time Residents are offered support from external agencies in the hope of moving on with their lives in a more positive and stable environment.
Who runs Jolliffe House?
Jolliffe House is part of the Emma Project Managed Houses. Winston Charles is the Alcohol Issues Housing Management Officer.
Living Facilities
Residents have their own bed-sit consisting of: a single bed with bedding; bedroom furniture; fridge freezer, cutlery and crockery. The house has a shared kitchen and other communal areas including a shared laundry room.
Resident Expectations
To work with appropriate external agencies, including the Community Alcohol Service.
You will be required to adhere to any support programs which will enable you to remain on the right track.
With support, set up a housing benefit claim
Keep your room and the house clean and tidy
Pay your personal charges on time
Attend all residents meetings which are usually held on a Friday
BUT MOST OF ALL, be serious about wanting to stop/control alcohol intake
Emergency Accommodation and Stop2Night
Emma Project Emergency Rooms
The Emma Project offer a safe, warm place to sleep for those over 16 years of age who find themselves homeless. The room is available from 7.30pm until 9am the following morning. Laundry and washing facilities are provided. In the room there is a bed with clean linen, a kettle for hot water, a snack and drink pack and a hygiene pack including soap, toothbrush and toothpaste with a towel and facecloth.
There are four Emergency Rooms and they are allocated on a first come first served basis.
You will be asked to meet Emma Project staff at a designated meeting point. Staff will then take you to the Emergency Room allocated to you. There, you will be asked to sign to confirm that you agree with the Emergency Room Rules and paperwork will be completed with you to claim Housing Benefit for your stay.
What is Stop2Night?
Stop2Night provides emergency, temporary accommodation for homeless young people aged between 16-25, in Darlington and surrounding areas. It grew out of NightStop, a project launched by Grange Road Baptist Church in 1993, and is the outworking of a desire to combat the problem of homelessness. Since 1st May 2007 it has come under the umbrella of the 700 Club to improve the governance of the charity.
Young people can become homeless for a variety of reasons, from family breakdown to abuse. For those who find themselves in this vulnerable position, finding a new home takes time. There is a need for a half-way house, somewhere stable and safe to live during this period of great change.
Stop2Night aims to meet this need by providing support and care within a family environment through our network of volunteer host families. Every host family is fully trained before hosting. The young person can stay up to three nights whilst we try and arrange a more permanent solution.
Whilst in the homes of our families, our guests are given meals, a toiletry bag, have access to the facilities that most of us take for granted: a bed, bath/shower and most importantly a warm, dry, safe place to stay.
How do you access Emergency Accommodation?
A Referral Form is completed when your worker at First Stop Darlington, Darlington Borough Council, Connexions or any other agency you are involved with calls to book the Emergency Room for you.
When the room is booked, you will be given further information about where to meet for access to the room, or be taken to the Host family.
To access Emergency Accommodation, please call Susan Aldus on 01325 382737.
Are there any restrictions?
YES. If, on arrival, you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you will be refused admittance.
Mentoring
The Volunteer Mentor Coordinator was appointed in November 2007. Funding is provided by Northern Rock Foundation for the next three years.
Ann-Marie Basnett-Roberts is the Volunteer Mentor Coordinator. She wrote the following article:
“I was homeless myself, so know the isolation, loneliness and fear of being caught up in a system I know little about. I would have loved to have a volunteer mentor to support me at that time, but there was no such person, and that is why I know this is needed and will be a huge success.
The idea is that I will advertise, recruit, interview, support, and help organise the training of volunteer mentors and match these same mentors with Service Users within the 700 Club.
The beauty of volunteering is two fold. The volunteer gets an amazing amount of experience, and a taster of what the work involves, it can kill or cure as it were! They also get to see how organisations are run, and the huge numbers of people involved in running the show. As well as the differing roles that makes up the jigsaw of such organisations. They develop as people, I should know I have volunteered in many organisations throughout both my working and academic life, including the NSPCC, Cleveland Aids Support, Justice Support Project and Hartlepool Refuge. I volunteered at Barnardos too which resulted in me being appointed to my last post as Project Worker at Middlesbrough Independence Network supporting homeless people. Part of my role there was supporting volunteers, and my experience of being one was invaluable. They feel valued by the people they are helping and the organisation. There is no doubt that the thousands of volunteers across the country can never be thanked enough for what they do, but here at the 700 Club we will try!
What is in it for you the Service User? The Service Users gets the support of volunteers who want to be with them. I have found in the past that Service Users confide more in volunteers as there is no remit for them being there other than they want to help. This gives an element of freedom to the person needing the support, and they are more at ease with the volunteer. This increases the level of honesty, trust and a better working relationship for both parties. They can also tap into the volunteer’s skills and get support in something they have always wanted to do. For example many people leave school early and lack key skills. Volunteer Mentors can bridge that gap and give individual support on a one to one basis not in a classroom. The options are endless and the people deciding on them are the two most important ones, the Volunteer Mentor and the Service User.
You could be supported on a regular basis, say every Tuesday if that is what you both agree, and this would open up lots of possibilities. You work together to make it. No two relationships or mentoring agreement will be the same. If I could market and sell the special bond that develops I would be a rich woman! Those of you who are involved in the service will be rich too, in a way that money cannot compare with, they will know that good is coming out of the work done, and that is priceless.
Mentors will go through an application process including references and CRB screening, and will need to commit to training within and outside the 700 Club and will be matched to those wanting a mentor. At all times they will be supervised and supported, as will you, by them.
You might be a Service Users wanting a Mentor, or a member of the public interested in Mentoring, you might work for another organisation and want to set up a Mentoring Scheme. Whatever your interest telephone Ann Marie 489604 or go to http://www.700club.org.uk/how-you-can-help/volunteering/ for further information.
Floating Support
“The primary purpose of housing related support is to develop and sustain an individual’s capacity to live independently in their accommodation” Supporting People
Emma Project Floating Support offer a housing related support service that promotes independence by developing skills in the client that will allow them to live as independently as possible in a stable environment.
We offer advice and support, aiming to prevent homelessness wherever possible through timely intervention.
The Emma Project has a team of three experienced support workers whose aim is to provide individually tailored support plans for each client that will identify the areas in which they require support. As a client’s needs change so the support plan will change to reflect this. One of our team specialises in under 25’s and working with those Leaving Care, another specialises in chaotic families and works closely with the Councils Family Intervention Project, and the third specialises in alcohol misuse.
Support is offered to clients in their own homes and is called 'floating' support because it is offered to people wherever they are living, rather than being tied to any particular property. Clients will typically live in a variety of accommodation types, council or housing association rents, HMO’s or even private rents. Support workers visit service users once, twice, or more often each week, depending on need. Support is offered usually for periods of one year but this can be extended for as long as two years to cover periods of difficulty.
We aim to help service users in practical ways so that they can maintain their accommodation and live successfully in the community. We will assist service users set up their homes by painting and decorating with them and shop with them to furnish their homes.
Assistance is provided to access a wide range of outside health, care and support services. Plus access to education, employment or training. Our staff are experienced in dealing with advice on issues such as budgeting and welfare benefits. We will support service users with any issues that they face including managing their own homes.
We recognise that Service Users may require support after regular office hours. Therefore the Emma Project provide a 24 Hour Emergency On Call Service for all of our Service Users to access after our office closes.
When an individual no longer needs support it can be discontinued, and services can 'float' to the next person in need. The Emma Project Floating Support Scheme is funded by Supporting People and is free of charge.
Generally the people we support have come from chaotic pasts and are very vulnerable and besides practical support will often require emotional support. By using a needs led approach it is hoped that each client will move forward and gain a better quality of life.
Since the Emma Project began we have supported 143 clients with roughly equal number of men and women. The biggest group we deal with are the homeless under 25’s many of which have come from chaotic backgrounds and who rely heavily on the experience of the Floating Support Team to provide stability and knowledge to help them maintain a tenancy. Service Users coming to us often have multiple needs - substance misuse, alcohol, mental health, domestic abuse, budgeting etc. Floating Support Workers will encourage clients to engage with other agencies to work through their problems as by doing this they are……..
“developing and sustaining an individual’s capacity to live independently in their accommodation” Supporting People
Taster Flats
The Emma Project have two Taster Flats for young people leaving care. The flats are provided in partnership with Social Services After Care Leaving Team and Darlington Housing Association.
Young people often require independent living skills. These skills are easiest to identify and to develop when a person is living independently. We have a Floating Support Worker attached to the Taster Flats to support, encourage and enable the young person to achieve independence and gain more skills. Young people will stay in the flats for somewhere between 3 months and a year. At the end of their placement they will either return to their previous place of residency or move on to more permanent accommodation.
The flats are provided by Darlington Housing Association and are located in central Darlington. Both flats are fully furnished by the After Care Leaving Team and the young person will sign a Licence Agreement promising to take care of the flat and the furnishings. The young person must also agree to be considerate of their neighbours and to work closely and effectively with the Emma Project Floating Support Worker.
The Emma Project On Call Team are available 24 hours 7 days a week to respond to any emergency or crisis.
To be referred speak to your After Care Leaving Team Personal Advisor or Social Worker.