St John's and St Jude's Accommodation Support
St John's is a 19-bed residential centre for young people aged 16-25. St Jude's in Kettering provides 16 beds in the hostel and a further 4 beds in trainer flats. Both are a first stage centre for residents with high support needs or with no experience of supporting themselves in accommodation. Both centres are managed on behalf of YMCA England.
On entering the centre each resident will be allocated a keyworker who will help the resident to assess their needs, on which all future support will be based. The keyworker will aim to meet with them at least once a week to review their personal development plans and to identify their needs. The keyworker also helps the resident to register with a doctor, obtain benefits to which they are entitled and encourage development of their life skills in line with their personal plan.
For the Kettering residents who are able to access the trainer flats, they will continue with their personal development plans and the YMCA support workers write a tenancy report detailing their achievements at living independently. The report examines how the resident has developed:
- a good relationship with the local council, particularly the Housing Needs Assessment Team.
- budgeting and other life and practical skills such as maintenance of the accommodation and attending appointments.
- through attending courses or further education classes.
This report will help towards residents obtaining their own accommodation.
Sometimes residents will have other needs that may require more specialist support. For this purposes the YMCA partners with a number of organisations that provide these specialist support and development needs. These organisations include CAN, Millennium Volunteers, Prince's Trust, Connexions, Off the Hook and Community Support Team.
Residents will stay about 4 months on average before moving onto other accommodation.
"The YMCA are one of our key partners in Northampton and we work effectively together to enable positive outcomes for young people who are at risk of being homeless. The YMCA provide a stable environment and help young people to make the most of their opportunities to achieve a happy, healthy and successful life and we are pleased to support this work."
Fran Rodgers, Corporate Manager, Housing Services, Northampton Borough Council
"The best thing about living at the YMCA is that the staff members treat us all as individual adults, and they respect us when we respect them and that's how the world should be really. They have helped me out a hell of a lot. Staff members have given me a life that I didn't think I could have. When I came here I was on drugs, drink and just didn't think I could do anything with my life, but now I have."
St. Jude's resident
To contact us please call:
St John's Centre 01604 638555
St Jude's Centre 01536 415589
Last updated on 01/04/09 by Kate Gelder
