Supported Accommodation

The Willows

Location
Cambridge Street, Stafford

Number of beds
4

Type of care
Short Term (3- 6 months), Medium Term (6 – 12 months) and Long Term (12 months plus) supported accommodation for young people aged 16 to 21

Harmony’s supported accommodation and outreach support service is for young people aged 16-21 years old for whom the Local Authority has a statutory duty. We work with young people who are:

Leaving care
Asylum-seeking young people
Young offenders
Homeless

We work in partnership with local authorities commissioning teams to provide high quality accommodation with an experienced staff team to oversee the home. We work in line with quality assurance framework of the West midland’s local authorities. We support young people and prepare them for transition to independence and adult life.

We have developed our services to enable Young People to develop the necessary skills to live full and independent lives within the local and wider community. We understand that each young person is an individual, with their own needs, wishes and feelings.

Young people are supported to bring about change, in solution-focused ways, building on their strengths, so that they can maximise opportunities to improve their life chances, benefiting from good parenting, consistent boundaries, emotional warmth and are equipped with life skills and resilience.

Young people are safeguarded from harm, with their development, wellbeing and life chances promoted. We will achieve this by working openly with young people, their families (where possible) and collaboratively with partners. Care and support shall reflect the differing stages through a pathway from prevention, access, progression and move on to independence or return to family, with an expectation that the needs will reduce over time as the young people become more independent

Our Ethos

We are passionate in delivering an excellent residential supported accommodation service that offers a safe, warm, caring environment for young people aged 16 to 21; who are either leaving care, homeless, and/or young asylum seekers. We strive in enabling and empowering young people to express their cultural, ethnic, religious, sexual or social diversity, informing and promoting their rights as young people.

Harmony can cater for young people that may have complex issues and who are experiencing developmental difficulties and problematic early life experiences, including attachment disorder, emotional behaviours and low-level learning difficulties.

Our Aims

To provide a safe, supporting a and nurturing home for the young person to live in.
To work in partnership with young people and all those with parental responsibility to achieve the best outcomes and ensure all are involved in the process.
To provide consistency through an allocated support Worker/Manager.
To provide assistance and support for young people to develop practical self-care skills including health, budgeting, and practical living skills.
To assist young people in developing a support plan to reach their full potential through education, training and employment opportunities.
To assist young people with transitioning to Independence through social inclusion and practical living skills.
To work with young people to build self-resilience, emotional well-being and strength in their own ability.
To support young people in developing positive relationships with families, friends and professionals.
To monitoring and evaluation of outcomes through structured support planning and regular reporting
To maintain and strengthen any links the young person may have with the community.
To provide a structured, stimulating, caring and safe environment that is free from any prejudices and which offers young people the opportunity to be listened to and express their wishes, feelings and needs. We will use an open person-centred approach in all settings.
To encourage a positive sense of self-image through responding to young people’s individuality by treating them with dignity and focusing on reinforcing positive behaviour.
To continually improve the quality of care we provide to children and young people through rigorous monitoring of, and evaluation of, our practices and procedures.
To actively listen to and take account of, the views, wishes and feelings of the young people we care for as well as significant others in the child/young person’s life.
To provide opportunities for activities and participation in experiences, which will enhance the quality of life of the young person, to enable them to build stronger social networks and reduce social isolation.
To regularly monitor and review the young person’s progress and success within the placement. By use of checks by the provider to ensure the home is aiming high for each young person’s care to help them excel in care.

The Willows

The service provides Short Term (3- 6 months), Medium Term (6 – 12 months) and Long Term (12 months plus) supported accommodation for young people aged 16 to 21. The Willows is group home in Stafford town centre, which can accommodate up to 4 young people.

There is an experienced manager in place, who oversees the service and a team of qualified support workers who work within the home. We provide packages from 5 hours direct support to 24/7 support and accommodation, with access to night staff and staff during the daytime hours. Young people can receive 1:1 hours of support, which is based on individual needs and Pathway Plan.

The home is a beautiful end terraced 4-bedroom property which is set over two floors. Young people will have access to communal lounge areas where they can watch TV, play games and read books.

The Home has been furnished to a good standard and is decorated throughout with comfortable and modern furnishings. The home contains all the amenities associated with modern life – central heating; fitted Kitchen with fridge freezer, washer and dryer; adequate shower facilities. The Home has a comfortable communal lounge equipped with TV.

Each young person will have their own spacious bedroom, furnished to a high standard with adequate storage space and with ensuite facility. Young people are encouraged to take ownership of their bedroom through their choice of bedding, posters, pictures and personal items. Keys will be provided to their bedrooms.

The home has good links to bus routes into and around the Stafford area. There are a number of recreational activities that can be accessed as well as clubs that can promote positive social inclusion; all within walking distance or a short bus journey

To ensure that their needs are met, we will:

Ensure, when planning admissions to the home, clear consideration is given to the mixes of young people.
All young people who are placed at the home must have a placement /support plan that is in full agreement of providing a minimum of 25 hour’s education/training/employment per week, and denoting who is responsible for this requirement.
Use the rota’s creatively to reflect a balance of gender and experience as well as providing adequate numbers.
Provide adequate staffing to work closely with smaller groups or individual young people in order to promote their welfare and to enable outside activities to take place.
Identify a key worker for each young person who works with them directly to ensure the identified objectives in their care plan are fully realised.
Meet the needs of each young person in placement through the provision of firm boundaries, structured care and to promote and effect positive changes for the young people equipping them with the tools that will enable them to move forward in preparation for independence.