Find out more about generic floating support

Generic Floating Support is a support service aimed at people who could be experiencing a range of problems accessing and or maintaining their accommodation in their local community. It also supports people who want to develop and improve their ability to live independently.
Often people who require a floating support service will have some vulnerability linked to one of the following categories;

• Young people
• Families who need support
• Teenage parents
• Physical and / or sensory problems
• Learning disabilities
• Drug and / or alcohol problems
• Previously been imprisoned, at risk of offending or re-offending
• HIV and Aids
• Mental health needs
• People escaping domestic violence

However, it is important to remember that this list is not exhaustive and there will be people needing support who do not necessarily fit neatly into these categories.

Generic floating support is able to provide various levels of support, from low to higher more complex levels of need.

All our generic floating support services are for people who are 16 and over and either live in the area covered by the service or who are looking to re-access accommodation in the area based on a level of local connection.

Individuals will be offered a flexible and individually tailored support service for up to two years. The support will be outcome focussed and will offer structured advice and support around housing related activities. Clients will be supported to complete their own Personal Development Plans based on how they feel and what areas they would like support with.

Using a floating support model, the service will be offered to people, wherever they live, who will eventually ‘float off’ as and when the support is no longer required. We often support people in their own homes but we can agree to meet in a venue in the local community such as a community centre, or in our local offices.

All our generic floating support services provide a range of different levels of support and response times. All these options are tailored to the individual needs of our service users and are regularly reviewed to ensure our services promote independence.

We categorise these options as follows:

High/ crisis - this level of support is based on short periods of intensive support to help resolve crisis situations relating to someone’s housing. This could include liaison with landlords or statutory services, support through a court eviction process, homeless applications, support with a health crisis which pose a risk to current accommodation or supporting more vulnerable people to access and resettle into new accommodation.
This intensive support is designed to be targeted and time limited with the objective of resolving or reducing the risks associated with a crisis situation. On average this level of service can provide up to 8 hours a week of intensive support for crisis intervention.

Medium/Holistic - this level of support can follow on from a crisis situation to consolidate the initial high level work and to start developing the necessary life skills and solutions to prevent a similar crisis arising in the future. Or it can meet lower levels of need through weekly or fortnightly levels of contact with service users designed to develop awareness and essential life skills that promote independent living.

Low/ floating off - this is the last level of support and provides a very low level of contact with service users who have completed their Personal Development Plans. Service users will be close to achieving independent living but need a low level of on going contact with us to increase confidence and levels of motivation enabling them to achieve this goal. This stage of the service can also be used to meet very low levels of support or advice needs through our drop in support services or telephone only contact service levels.

Our generic floating support services do not provide any personal care services or home/domestic help type services such as shopping or cleaning. We don’t provide transport or housing management related services. Where people might require these type of services we can provide support and advice to apply for relevant benefits and grants to purchase these services for them, or support people to apply directly to appropriate service providers.

All our generic floating support services are funded directly through a government initiative called “Supporting People”. This is administered at a local authority level and this service is not subject to any charge to the service user – it’s free!

The local administration of the funding means that the service is specifically aimed at local people in each of our areas of operation or people looking to return to these areas who need a housing support service to achieve this aim. We will treat each application on its merit and individually assess peoples housing support needs to determine eligibility and priority for support.

All of our generic floating support services have open access arrangement we call “Gateways”. This means that alongside more traditional referral routes such as the local Council’s Housing Team, Registered Social Landlords, Social Services and Primary Care Trust teams, we are also able to accept referrals directly from individuals, their family and friends.

For professionals we have a standard referral/application form which you can download from this web site here. These can be submitted electronically and we will respond to each application letting you know how and when we will follow this up and checking any relevant details.

For self referrals or applications from family and friends each service has its own enquiry line where you can speak directly to a member of staff. They will be able to provide you with more information about the service, while also being able to take some basic details and let you know when we will contact you again to take forward your application.

As well as the enquiry line we have self addressed enquiry cards circulated around our area of operations. When we receive these we will make contact with the individual to gather more details about their enquiry.

Following the receipt and confirmation of an application for floating support, details are checked to make sure the applicant is eligible for the support service. This will confirm key details relating to the application and its potential priority based on the applicants needs. Once eligibility and priority have been established, a full needs assessment will be carried out with the applicant.

 This assessment starts with a self assessment where we work with each person to highlight where they feel they need support, how often and how urgently. From this assessment we will confirm an offer of support and if a waiting list exits, what priority the person has been awarded. When someone is put on a waiting list to allocate their case we will contact them by phone on a weekly basis to let them know progress of their position and check any changes to their circumstances.

Once accepted, the allocated Support Worker will contact the applicant by phone to arrange a suitable appointment and venue to meet and agree a Personal Development Plan based on the applicants self assessment and specific housing related support needs. The plan and support agreement will provide the basis for the support service and be reviewed as a minimum every three months.

All our generic floating support services are time limited and last up to two years. Our initial aim is to support access into accommodation or to help stabilise current accommodation.

Our ultimate aim is that the support improves people’s life skills, confidence and motivation to live independently within their local community. This includes supporting, encouraging and advising on health, finance, access to and opportunities within the local community. Our aim is to work with the service user to develop a plan tailored to their individual needs and circumstances.

In a lot of cases this will include working alongside other statutory, voluntary and specialist services to achieve goals set in the Personal Development Plan. We will regularly review this plan with the service user and relevant third parties to assess its progress and whether the level of service we provide can be reduced or ended due to the successful completion of the clients agreed goals.