Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing to take over floating housing support service

Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing (STAR Housing) will be taking over the council’s floating housing support service to continue to help vulnerable residents remain in their home.

Floating housing support is short to medium term housing-related support to help vulnerable people develop the skills and experience to be able to maintain their own accommodation and live independently in the community.

The revised service will come into effect on 1 January 2024 and will focus on:-

• Helping to prevent homelessness and/or to support people who have been homeless into settled accommodation
• Helping people to access complementary services aimed at improving for example their wellbeing, financial situation, and employability.

The service was previously delivered by Sustain Consortium – which comprised of STAR Housing as well as Homes Plus, Connexus Housing, The Wrekin Housing Group, and Shrewsbury Homes for All – on behalf of the council.

Following a public consultation in April 2023, the revised service was put to tender in which STAR housing put forward a bid and was awarded the contract.

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for housing and assets, said:-

“I am delighted that STAR Housing have been awarded the floating housing support contract.

“This is a much needed service that will help those whose needs are such that their ability to maintain a tenancy or remain independent in their home would be compromised without that support.

“The focus of this housing-related support will be on ensuring that people have access to appropriate and settled accommodation according to their circumstances, and have the support networks in place to help them sustain that accommodation.

“Our housing services will oversee the referral process to ensure that those who most need the help and support are prioritised, to enable intervention to be in place as soon as possible.”

Staff assigned to the service currently employed by Sustain will transfer to STAR Housing.  Those who access the service have advised to contact their current support officer to ask any questions relating to their future support.

Harpreet Rayet, Managing Director of STAR Housing, said:-

“We are very happy to have been awarded the contract for the floating housing support service. This allows us to continue supporting residents across Shropshire to maintain their independence within the community.

“We firmly believe in assisting people to gain the skills needed to live independently, and recognise the importance of such a service in helping the most vulnerable members of our community.

“Through this service we aim to provide crucial housing support to those in need, in particular preventing homelessness and supporting residents to achieve and sustain a tenancy. We are committed to working closely with Shropshire Council and residents to ensure the transition is smooth and the new contract operates effectively.“

If you or someone you know is homeless or at risk of homelessness, please contact the housing options team via housingoptions@shropshire.gov.uk or 0345 678 9005  or if you know of someone rough sleeping, please report this via StreetLink – Connecting people sleeping rough to local services (thestreetlink.org.uk) or 0345 678 9005.