Introducing our BRAND NEW Housing and Innovation Service

Homeless Oxfordshire · New safeguarding service for homeless people in Oxfordshire

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new Housing and Innovation Service!

This new service is made up of several key aspects that will support the growth and development of Homeless Oxfordshire. In other words, it will allow us to go further than we ever have before! Furthermore, our exciting new plans will see substantial investment in creating new homes for those who need it most.

We’ve been around for nearly 35 years throughout this time, we’ve learned that a system of flexible ‘wrap around’ approaches is needed in order to make real change to the lives of vulnerable people.

Many people who experience homelessness and/or rough sleeping might need support in building up their confidence. One of the initiatives that our new Housing and Innovation service will establish is the introduction of a Life Skills Programme. This will enable clients to build vital skills to support tenancy sustainment. It will include a bundle of courses ranging from cookery to debt management and budgeting.

It’s a well-known fact that homeless people experience digital exclusion because they don’t have access to appropriate technology. This makes it harder to develop crucial skills, for example, learning how to craft a CV and to apply for jobs. Homeless Oxfordshire is delighted to address this by awarding clients access to Chromebooks. This follows the donation of £5,000 from Oxford Said Business School earlier this year.

We whole-heartedly believe that through learning a combination of life skills, clients will be able to progress towards independent living.

Our new service also introduces a specialist Anti-Social Behaviour and Safeguarding Team. This area of the service has been carefully designed to protect the most vulnerable residents from serious harm.

This specialist team will be supported through a new Community Warden Scheme. It will help to reduce, investigate, and manage anti-social behaviour within our communities. The Community Wardens will be tasked with visiting vulnerable people, carrying out welfare visits and positively engaging with communities impacted by anti-social behaviour. They will have the ultimate aim of ensuring clients and the surrounding community can live safely in their homes.

Craig Freeman, Head of Housing and Innovation said: “We have to accept that many of our residents suffer with life-long experiences which require intensive support to maximise their chances of a positive future. We are delighted to introduce a number of new features which, when combined, provides a wrap-around approach that goes further than we ever have before to support our clients and influence behaviour change. Ultimately, it is through a system of measures that we can play a vital part in reducing homelessness in Oxfordshire”.

The prevention of Anti-social Behaviour and Safeguarding are important priorities for us. Clients who might be a target of ‘cuckooing’, domestic violence and other forms of abuse will look at their housing situation to give them the protection they need.

Claire Dowan, CEO at Homeless Oxfordshire said: “We work with extremely vulnerable people and our main focus is on ensuring that we give our clients the best possible opportunities to help them to move on from homelessness. Improving safeguarding practices and protecting our clients from threats of anti-social behaviour will ensure that their journeys to recovery are as uninterrupted as possible.”

Homeless Oxfordshire is currently recruiting Community Wardens to join them on their exciting journey, particularly welcoming applications from university students who might be thinking about starting a career in the non-profit sector. For more information, please visit: https://homelessoxfordshire.uk/workwithus/

For more information or to enquire about forthcoming job vacancies regarding our anti-social behaviour and community warden roles, please contact: craigfreeman@homelessoxfordshire.uk

Stop press!

You can also read the recent press coverage we received about the new service launch on the Oxford Mail website.