We are supporting Starts at Home Day to celebrate the positive impact supported housing has on thousands of lives.
The campaign, organised by the National Housing Federation, is designed to ensure that people who need extra support have a safe home that meets their needs.
LiveWest supports over 1,800 customers at any one time in our supported housing services, providing services to younger people and older people, people with learning disabilities, adults and families, and services provided by other organisations in our properties.
We have a network of foyers across the South West, which support young people between the ages of 16 and 25 experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.
Our Extra Care schemes provide homes across four schemes from Plymouth to Bath. These are for older people who need some level of care, which is delivered by an on-site care and support provider.
There is a range of accommodation for adults and families, either scheme based or individual homes where our customers can prepare for the next step towards independent living.
We work closely with specialist support and care providers in our accommodation for customers with a learning disability, enabling them to maintain independence.
David Davies, Head of Supported Housing for LiveWest, said: “It is fantastic to celebrate Starts at Home Day which focuses on ensuring people who need extra support always have a safe home that meets their needs. This is something that we strive for at LiveWest and plays a central role in everything we do.
“We currently have more than 1,800 living in our supported accommodation across the South West who are supported by our passionate and dedicated teams who put our customers at the heart of what we do.
“We offer both long-term and short-term accommodation options and services to meet difference needs and this gives us an opportunity to recognise and celebrate these essential support services and the impact these on have on people’s lives.
“The Starts at Home campaign is important in showcasing the sector’s fantastic work.”
Amongst our highlights over the past year was the completion of our £2m investment in Bristol Foyer to provide a rejuvenated space for young people between the ages of 16 and 25.
A range of internal works refurbished the inside of the foyer, improved the heating and ventilation and replaced all the windows to provide a more energy efficient building.
Our focus to support former military veterans is underlined as our 25-home Stirling House project in Plymouth nears completion.
Thanks to a partnership between LiveWest, Plymouth City Council and veterans’ charity Alabaré, the self-build military project has enabled ex-forces personnel to gain construction skills during the creation of their own homes.
With funding from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust has awarded £995,000 to LiveWest under the Reducing Veterans' Homelessness programme, for the New Seasons Veterans Supported Housing Project – a two-year project based in Devon working closely with Operation Fortitude to support the commitment to end veteran homelessness in the UK.