Camden Council launches innovative new housing service
Date: 19/10/09
Camden Council has launched an innovative new service to help its tenants improve their quality of life. At the launch event (on Thursday), the Council introduced a new service that will deliver a package of housing options, employment and well-being advice to people living in social housing.
The Pathways For All (PFA) service works with tenants to resolve housing problems, improve access to jobs, training and education, and help families improve their health, confidence and self esteem. The service works intensively with the family over a period of three months to establish an action plan to carry out together.
The service primarily focuses on overcrowded tenants and their families, tenants whose homes are too big for their needs and new tenants who want advice about training and employment or debt and money management
Since the Council started introducing the service in April it has been working with 380 families who have been targeted from the housing needs register, and referred by partner services or local councillors. The service works with partner organisations such as Camden Working and NHS Camden to help meet the families’ needs. The PFA service is now on track to meet its target of working with 800 households by the end of the year.
Victoria is one person who has benefited from the PFA service. She is a single mother who was living in overcrowded conditions in a studio flat with her young daughters. She was also expecting another child and was keen to move before the baby was born.
The PFA service helped Victoria produce a joint action plan to tackle some of her health problems and her money problems. The PFA service adviser wrote to Victoria’s creditors to negotiate more appropriate and affordable repayments and put her in touch with some of the borough’s mental health support groups. With the help of her adviser Victoria also successfully bid for a two bedroom property and moved out of her studio before the baby was born.
Victoria said:
"The debt collector was calling every day, so Pathways has helped me to negotiate with them. It’s a great relief, now. Now I can sleep at night and relax."
Councillor Chris Naylor, Executive Member for Homes and Housing Strategy, said:
"We wanted to invest in people, not just bricks and mortar, by enhancing the support we offer to residents living in social housing. That’s why we have set up the Pathways For All service. This way, not only can we improve people’s living conditions, but their job prospects, their health, and their overall quality of life."
The PFA service has also absorbed the work of the overcrowding team who had already introduced a groundbreaking new approach to tackling overcrowding, which was recognised as a model of good practice by the CLG in 2008. Camden Council developed the PFA service having been given Enhanced Housing Options Trailblazer status by CLG (Communities and Local Government) in 2008.
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Page last updated Oct 20, 2009 8:24 AM
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