Accommodation Gateway

What is it?

A service which supports clients to find and maintain suitable accommodation. We work with people who are currently subject to statutory supervision by Devon & Cornwall Probation Trust living in Devon (excluding Torbay and Plymouth). Access is by referral only via Devon & Cornwall Probation Trust who fund the service.

What we do…

The Accommodation Gateway Project continues to increase the opportunities for offenders and ex-offenders to access and secure appropriate accommodation. It also provides advice, guidance and advocacy on housing, welfare, benefits and money issues. We also seek out income streams, charitable funding and look at ways of maximising benefits. As a project, we also provide a ‘rent spend’ fund to assist clients with deposit costs, which is then monitored through a repayment plan.

Once in a tenancy we work closely with Carr-Gomm who provide a floating support service to try to help the client to sustain the accommodation. Surgeries are provided at Probation Offices, Barnfield Road in Exeter. For 2009/10 we received 204 referrals; with 77 being successfully accommodated and a further 175 given advice and signposted to the appropriate agency. An average monthly caseload currently exceeds fifty at any one time.

Finding and then maintaining suitable accommodation is a vital aspect of the community re-integration process. Reducing re-offending rates is important to local communities; and secure, safe, affordable accommodation is a vital step to achieving this. Once accommodation has been secured we can put clients in touch with drug, alcohol and mental health agencies and debt advisers if needed.

Over the next 12 months we hope to work more closely with partner agencies such as C.H.A.T in Mid Devon and Homemaker South West; who provide a similar service in Barnstaple. This would enable us to provide a consistent service to all of our clients.

For more details, please get in touch with your Offender Manager at Probation