The Living Hope House

Can you refer a person to The Living Hope House?

The Living Hope (TLH) House operates a robust referral process designed to offer you, as a potential referrer, your client, and us, real confidence. 

We offer accommodation to help homeless people ‘move on’ from transition housing, where residents are supported by specialist staff. We will tailor an individual care and a support programme to the needs, hopes and aspirations of each resident, preparing them for sustainable independent living. Residents will receive support, mentoring and advocacy from staff, trained and supervised volunteers, also support from local specialist agencies. When residents are ready to leave TLH House, we will help them find suitable accommodation, work or training. Moving on can be difficult and may be a struggle, so TLH House residents can continue to be supported through this transition.

We accept referrals from a broad range of organisations. Primarily this will be from organisations working directly with homeless people such as hostels, outreach teams, as well as drop-in and support services. We will also consider referrals from others, such as faith and community groups. It is crucial that the referrer has a good knowledge of, and a period of experience and relationship with, the person they seek to refer. We do not accept self-referrals, or referrals from members of the public who are not attached to a formal group.

What we expect from a Referral Agency

• You will represent a formal service provider or organisation working with homeless people
• You will be prepared to comply with the full referral process of The Living Hope (TLH)
• You will be able to demonstrate a good background knowledge of the person you are referring, through previous direct engagement with the individual
• You will be prepared to work with TLH to ensure the applicant is fully supported through the referral process
• You will, if at all possible, offer some ‘light touch’ support continuity to your client during a settling-in period

What you can expect from us

• A clear and robust referral process with good communication at every level
• Fair treatment and consideration of every referral received
• Feedback about the progress of the resident

Referral Criteria

To refer someone to The Living Hope House, they must meet the following criteria.

[We partner with Green Pastures, a Christian Social Enterprise with 25 years’ experience in housing and supporting homeless people. They have other partnerships across the UK and can seek to accommodate someone elsewhere that might provide better support than we can offer.

General Criteria

• Single males only
• Minimum age: 25* / Maximum age – open, but would always be subject to an assessment of needs
• Must be eligible for housing benefit and prepared to stay at TLH House for a minimum term of six months
• Whilst there is no maximum stay, we are preparing residents for independent living, so they will enter into a review on next steps if they have been at TLH House for 1 year. Progress reviews are held every 3 months.
• We can house those with a proven commitment to an addiction recovery programme, but to safeguard all residents, TLH house has a strict ‘zero’ drug and alcohol policy

• TLH House is a ‘dry house’ – alcohol is not allowed on the premises
• It is also a ‘clean house’ – drugs are not allowed on the premises. Random drug testing will be part of the residency contract.

• Anyone self-harming would be subject to a full risk assessment, prior to being offered a place in TLH House
• If there are any sexual offences, we would need full details and be able to speak to an offender manager prior to being able to make a decision on residency.
• Sadly, we cannot accommodate pets.

* There is an alternative local authority housing and support programme available for 19-24 year-olds.

Support Criteria

• Must have at least some medium support needs
• Must have a desire to be supported to a place of positive change
• Must be willing to abide by the House Expectations and License Agreement Terms
• Must be aware of, and at ease with, the Christian values of TLH House

There is no requirement / advantage for a resident to declare Christian faith prior to, or once in, TLH House. Faith matters are not a formal part of the Support Plan. Engagement in any faith aspect of TLH is entirely at the resident’s discretion.

• Must be willing to engage with the support programme, also to participate in meaningful activities

Meaningful activities may include: volunteering, training & education, skills development, employment, engagement with community, social and leisure activities, etc. There is a target of at least 10 hours positive activity engagement per week.

• Must be committed to attending support sessions and working with the support team to meet the objectives of their Support Plan This includes one-to-one sessions with support workers, house meetings, workshops, activity days etc.