Hope House
Description
Hope House is a large old building with plenty of character. It is situated in a residential area in the West end of Darlington and is surrounded by gardens front and back. The hostel consists of 18 en-suite residential rooms which are furnished throughout with modern furniture and three main communal areas, a lounge, laundry and kitchen area.
Pastoral Care
At Hope House we adopt a creative approach in all aspects of our work, we have to, to engage with our client base, most of whom have lead extremely chaotic lifestyles and often have had no stability in their past. We work with socially and economically isolated people with complex needs who are disadvantaged, often just through circumstance. The majority of service users who come to reside at Hope House often have histories of family breakdown, drug or alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other issues associated with homelessness.
Primarily we offer housing related support to our service users, our goal is to successfully move our clients on to permanent accommodation. To do this efficiently however, it is necessary for us to adopt a more holistic approach when supporting our service users, by assessing what their needs are and addressing them. We strive to empower service users to live independently and aim to support the person’s wellbeing to enable them to grow as a person and give them the skills needed to help them establish and maintain a tenancy of their own.For example, we encourage all our service users to attend the Daily living skills course which is delivered over a 10 week period, looking at the different aspects of independent living, including, healthy eating on a budget, cleaning, first aid, and personal presentation etc. For more information click here http://www.700club.org.uk/how-you-can-help/daily-living-skills/
Service Description
We work on an application system and look at all applications for accommodation on an individual basis so as to not exclude anyone from applying to Hope House. If accepted, based on our criteria, the applicant will then be placed on our waiting list which is prioritised in order of need.
Hope House is staffed 24hrs a day so there is always support and guidance available. On entry to the hostel each service user is assigned a Support Worker with whom they will meet regularly to discuss their needs, hopes and aspirations. Initially the meetings will take place on a weekly basis for the first 6 six weeks giving the support worker and the service user time to get to know one another and to look at the key issues needing to be addressed.
We assist service users with a range of issues from reading letters and filling out application forms correctly, to sign posting and working in partnership with external agencies on specific issues, in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.
While addressing issues we also encourage and assist service users to take control of their own lives again and look towards the future. This can come in the form of attending a college course, training, employment or even volunteer work, something to help re- establish themselves positively back into the community and build up confidence.
Development and other Services
For those who need that little bit more support a volunteer mentor scheme is available. Here a service user is paired with a suitable mentor to assist them in activities outside of the hostel, e.g. Someone to accompany them to a doctors appointment or just for a friendly chat over a coffee, For more information click on http://www.hiccupit.co.uk/700club/how-you-can-help/volunteering/
Hope House also provides a C-Card service which offers sexual health information and free contraception.
Service User Involvement
Hope House service users also have the option of attending or joining in any activities which are available to the 700 Club as a whole, such as, quizzes, walks, gardening, sports days, parties, cookery courses etc. As well as having the opportunity to be involved with the shaping of the organisation at all levels, from policy making to being a committee member. For more information click here http://www.700club.org.uk/how-you-can-help/service-users/
We encourage our service users to have a say in the way we shape the services offered at Hope House. Service user forums are held annually for the whole of the 700 Club, but in relation to this Hope House holds their own residents meeting on a monthly basis. This gives the service users the opportunity to raise any concerns that they may have, or to bring forward any new ideas which could be incorporated within the daily running of the hostel.
Contact Hope House on 01325 350051 or e-mail 700club@700club.org.uk