Homeless services
“We have always placed the delivery of services for people affected by homelessness at the heart of our purpose, and the last year has been no different. We are proud of the services we’ve delivered across the region – as well as growing existing provision, such as Housing First and our support for homeless families, we’ve also introduced new vital services to build on the success of the national Everyone In campaign.
This is something we couldn’t do alone, and I want to thank the fantastic partners we work with – you are vital in supporting us to achieve so much. If you’d like to work with us, or learn about our experiences, please do get in touch.”
Vic Stirling, Head of Service
Housing First Rotherham has grown from supporting 30 people to 35 people. This year, we also shared more about the trauma-informed approach to the support we offer to our Housing First customers. This report shares more about our trauma-informed counsellor, embedding the approach across our services, and feedback from our customers.
Read the report
We’re also working in partnership with Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC) to deliver Housing First in the area. We provide the homes for the Housing First customers, and DMBC’s Complex Lives Team provide the support.
Housing First Chesterfield has grown from supporting 7 to 14 customers over the last 12 months. A big thank you to our brilliant customer, Steven, for sharing your story in our new report.
Read the report
Rough Sleeper Accommodation Programme
Over the last 12 months, we have also secured funding for 20 new homes in Rotherham and Barnsley for people who are sleeping rough through the Rough Sleeper Accommodation Programme (RSAP). We provide homes, and collaborate with our partners to support RSAP customers to achieve their goal to move on to independent living.
Indigo Project
In 2021, we launched Indigo Project – a new community-based support service in Rotherham to help people to find new homes, following the national Everyone In campaign.
We visit temporary accommodation, including hostels and B&Bs, to support people to find and apply for homes, register with a GP, organise their finances and benefits, and more. So far, the Indigo Project has supported over 100 people in Rotherham.
ASSIST Sheffield
In 2021 we developed a partnership with ASSIST, a local Sheffield charity who support people who have been refused asylum. We worked with ASSIST to provide safe temporary free housing for people to call home in spaces that would otherwise have been empty (void). This opportunity has shown the potential for housing associations to think innovatively, to collaborate with charities in a way that benefits both organisations, and to positively impact the wellbeing of people seeking sanctuary.
Read more about our partnership with ASSIST in this report by the National Housing Federation, Homes for Cathy, and the Chartered Institute of Housing.
Celebration event
In March 2022 over 100 people and organisations who were involved with Age Better in Sheffield joined together in the Winter Garden to celebrate the work, outcomes, and changes made in the city.
Latest Neighbourhood toolkit
We launched 10,000 age-friendly Neighbourhood Toolkits across the Woodhouse ward in Sheffield to support healthy ageing for people of all ages. The toolkits were co-designed by local people and include a tote bag, postcards, a children’s treasure map, and lots of information, stories and opportunities to connect with the community.
Stronger Together toolkit
As part of co-production week 2022 we re-launched the Stronger Together Co-production Toolkit which includes hundreds of resources, stories and learning from 14 organisations and 6+ years of Ageing Better. It is completely free to use and a brilliant place to start if you’re looking to learn more about co-production or use it in your work.
Explore the toolkit
Our legacy
Following on from our work with Age Better in Sheffield, South Yorkshire Housing Association are one of several ‘Good Practice Mentor’ organisations – for us, this involves continuing to promote the Stronger Together Co-production Toolkit, Age-friendly Sheffield, and working with HACT to promote the ways housing organisations can help impact social challenges.
Good Work
Our Good Work team work with people with health conditions to find, stay and thrive in employment. They have continued to work with amazing people across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, and now added Good Work Skills to their offer, providing free training opportunities and support to gain new skills and ultimately find paid employment.
In the last 12 months we’ve supported…
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people to find or stay in work.
Good Work supported Scott by building his confidence, and identifying his strengths and job roles that really interested him. With support from his Employment Specialist, Scott secured an Apprenticeship with ESP Projects in Sheffield as a Helpdesk Apprentice Technician. Scott has now passed his apprenticeship with flying colours, achieving a distinction, with his employer saying: “this is testament to Scott’s dedication and hard work.”
Working Win
We’re also working with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and local NHS partners to support people with health conditions to find or stay in employment.
If you live in Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster or Bassetlaw, sign up for free support from Working Win.
Over the past four years, we’ve supported over 3,000 people to find, or return to, work.
Find out how Tina worked with Mark to find employment, and how she also helped Mark’s manager to welcome him into his new role and support other members of the team.
Listening to our stakeholders
After working with Viewpoint to survey over 600 customers in 2021, this year they helped us to survey some of our stakeholders – people, organisations and groups that operate in the sectors and areas we work in. We were particularly interested in hearing how we can increase the quality, diversity and impact of what we do, where we can make improvements, and how we can support our partners.
It was useful to hear our stakeholders’ thoughts about where to prioritise our work – for example, a number of respondents mentioned the climate crisis as both a challenge for our organisation, and where we should be focusing our attention. We’ve also identified opportunities for collaboration and learning, and it has been useful feedback as we start to create our next strategic plan. Thanks to everyone that took part.
LiveWell at Home
Our LiveWell at Home service celebrated its 5th anniversary in September 2022. A huge thank you to our brilliant team, and our amazing customers, for all your incredible work.
Earlier this year, we created a report to show the impact of the service and how it supports people to stay safe at home, build connections, and fulfil their aspirations.
Read the report
- Crucible Homes are working with some brilliant organisations including Rotherham Council to deliver their shared ownership programme, Willmott Dixon on the Trilogy Collection and Forge New Homes on The Hedgerows at Pilsley. They’re also doing great work supporting lots of people to buy, sell, rent or let their homes.
- Forge New Homes is our joint venture with Great Places Housing Group, Yorkshire Housing, Together Housing Group and The Guinness Partnership. Lots of progress has been made developing 98 new homes – including homes for affordable rent. As a ‘profit for purpose’ business, the profits will be reinvested to provide new affordable housing and support communities. Watch the latest drone footage of the site.
- Co-create are now working nationally across the health and voluntary sectors, supporting services to get people who use them more involved in planning and decision making.
- Viewpoint have grown their team in the last 12 months, including hiring a new business development manager, Ben. They’ve also developed their relationship with Working Win and plan to continue to grow their client base in 2023, creating more jobs for people who most need the opportunity to get into work.
The team are always looking for more investment and partnership opportunities – find out more or email enterprise@syha.co.uk
Growing Communities is a new initiative under SYHA Enterprises focusing on:
- Exploring and celebrating new ideas and excellent placemaking
- Sharing expertise and good practice
- Collaborating and forging new partnerships to drive equality and growth
- Using our influence and assets to benefit our sector
- Supporting the ideas of people in our community to improve the places they live, work and play.
In 2022, we’re looking at how we can share best practice from the Stronger Together Co-production Toolkit and the Well Rotherham programme with the housing and community sector. As part of this we’ve launched our free Growing Communities Co-production assessment tool.
Get in touch if you’d like to find out more about how we can support you or your organisation to grow your communities, forge partnerships, and embed good practice.
