The Women’s Sector providesa variety of fully furnished accommodation that encompasses hostels, shared houses and single tenancies all within the Leeds area for women who have needs other than being homeless. These needs may include substance misuse, physical, mental health or learning disabled issues, an offending background or domestic violence.
The service has a contract with Leeds City Council’s Housing Strategy and Solutions Department to provide a variety of supported accommodation for women for up to a maximum of six months
Aims and Objectives
The aims of the service are:
- To provide time limited, high quality fully furnished time limited housing and support for single women aged 16+ who have support issues in addition to being homeless.
- To assist women to obtain independent accommodation from a variety of sources that includes private, social and statutory landlords.
These are achieved by:
- Providing fully furnished, secure, safe accommodation in a variety of settings.
- Enabling and encouraging women to maximise and develop their skills and coping strategies so as to maximise their skills and develop confidence in order to lead more independent lives.
- Providing advice and signposting to other agencies in order to obtain more permanent independent accommodation.
- Dedicated staff teams who have a variety of skills, experience and knowledge so as to facilitate a woman’s positive move on from the service.
- Working co-operatively with private, social and statutory landlords and Tier 2 supported housing providers in order to access accommodation for clients
- Working with the client to develop comprehensive support plan packages that meet their housing and support issues.
Accommodation
The sector has a variety of accommodation types that comprises:
Emergency Access Hostel Accommodation.
Oakdale House: A 24 hour staffed short stay (maximum 14 days), emergency access homeless hostel for ten women. All women have individual single rooms and share communal facilities.
Cross Francis Street: A short stay time limited (28 days) feeder hostel for 8 women moving on from Oakdale House who initially need a more intensive level of support than that provided in the community accommodation. Cross Francis Street has a wheelchair accessible studio flat for disabled women in need of emergency access accommodation.
Community Accommodation:
Community accommodation consists of shared and single properties in which women can live for a maximum of6 months. The properties are all in the inner and outer areas of Leeds.
Shared houses consist of fully furnished two-bedded houses/flats in which clients have their own bedroom and share a kitchen, lounge and bathroom.
Single Tenancies are fully furnished but the weekly rental charge does not include utilities such as gas and electricity, or council tax.
Condition of Occupancy
Clients living in Oakdale House or at Cross Francis Street are given an Occupancy agreement for either a maximum of 14 days (Oakdale House) or 28 days (Cross Francis Street) and are required to adhere to the terms, conditions and responsibilities within this.
Clients in community properties receive a 6 month assured short hold tenancy agreement to which they are required to adhere to the terms, conditions and responsibilities within this.
All clients are supported to access more permanent accommodation from the Women’s Sector service from either private, voluntary or statutory landlords.
All clients are required to pay a weekly charge for their accommodation, part of which can be covered by housing benefit if the person is eligible to claim this.
Support Services
Clients in community properties are supported by a key worker who works on a regular basis with them and other professionals who are involved with the client. The key worker co-ordinates the mutually agreed needs and risk assessments and support packages with both the client and other involved workers. The key worker will aim to work with the service user as often as is needed in order to ensure that move on accommodation is obtained as soon as possible as well as developing a package of individually planned care and support to assist the client in sustaining their accommodation. It is acknowledged that initially there may need to be more frequent contact that will decrease in time as the presenting housing and support issues are addressed.
Clients in Oakdale House and Cross Francis Street do not have a named key worker due to the very short term nature of the accommodation but receive support from all workers in the hostel. Daily meetings are planned for each client throughout their stay to ascertain individual housing and support needs so as to ascertain the most appropriate type of move on accommodation and to ensure that women can access essential services such as benefits and healthcare as soon as possible. Need and risk assessments identify areas of support to be addressed in the support plan as well as the primary aim of securing the woman more settled accommodation.
In order to ensure equality of services to all, interpreters are provided if required, for clients for whom English is not their first language.
Staff and Management
The service has two teams of workers who are managed by a Scheme Manager and a Senior Worker who are both responsible to a Senior Manager who is based at LHC’s central office. Both teams of workers, The Scheme Manager and Senior Worker are based at Oakdale House.
The Oakdale House Hostel team consists of 5 full time equivalent Resettlement Workers, a part time Hostel Assistant and 2 part time housekeepers who work at both Oakdale House and Cross Francis Street. Oakdale House is staffed 24x7 with the night cover being provided by LHC’s separate designated Night Worker Team.
The Community team is made up of 4 full time Community Resettlement Workers. This team also supports the clients who live at Cross Francis Street. Staff cover is provided between 9am – 7pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 9am – 5pm Tuesday & Thursday and 10am – 5.30pm Saturdays
Referrals
Referrals for accommodation at Oakdale House can only be made for single women who have been deemed as being emergency homeless by Leeds City Council’s Leeds Housing Options Service.
Cross Francis Street accommodation can only be accessed internally by a referral from the Oakdale House Hostel Team.
Referrals for community accommodation are accepted from any voluntary, statutory or private referring agencies. Referral information can be submitted on a LHC referral form either electronically, faxed or taken via the telephone. Details are taken over the telephone for a comprehensive risk and needs assessment to be carried out. We aim to inform the potential client and referrer within 48 hours whether the referral has been accepted. If accepted and a property is available, an offer will be made and arrangements made to view, otherwise the client will go onto a waiting list. In some cases where further information is needed, an interview will be arranged. All referrals should be made directly to the Women’s Sector Community Team.
The sector’s accommodation is available to single homeless women aged 16 and over. There is no upper age limit.
Appeals
Where a referral request has been refused and the applicant or their referrer is not satisfied with the reasons given, they have a right to appeal the decision. Appeals should be made within 10 working days of receipt of the written decision using the appeal form that will accompany the decision letter. Once received an appeals' meeting will be arranged within 5 working days chaired by a Senior Manager at which the applicant and their referrer have the opportunity to state why they disagree with the decision. An appeal decision will be made within 3 working days of the meeting taking place & communicate to the client and their referrer.
Contact Details
Postal Address:
Oakdale House Hostel: Between 396 and 398 Meanwood Road, Leeds LS7 2LP
Telephone: (0113) 274 3858
Fax: (0113) 274 9984
Women's Sector Community Team: Oakdale House, Between 396 & 398 Meanwood Road, Leeds LS7 2LP
Telephone: (0113) 262 4330
Fax: (0113) 262 4334
Scheme Manager: Debra Priim
Telephone: (0113) 262 4331
Fax: (0113) 262 4334
Senior Manager: Lesley Sendall-Long
Telephone: (0113) 272 8490
Fax: (0113) 276 0156