Home economics

Michelle johnson's* parents were heroin addicts who were in and out of prison and violent towards each other and her. She stopped going to school regularly at the age of 14 and last year, at 17, she was sentenced to a year in a young offenders' institution for a knifepoint robbery. On leaving, vulnerable and with no stability in her life, Johnson could easily have turned to crime or sleeping rough, or both, and ended up back in prison.

But in fact, she has a roof over her head and is looking forward to getting a job – all thanks to a new housing support project, Mansion House, to which she was referred by Lewisham council's youth offending team on her release.

"Michelle was very mistrustful," says Mansion House support and development worker Paul Grey, "but I could sense that, with help, she was willing to make a go of her time here. She's said this is the best thing that's happened to her – she needed space, without her parents' influence on her life. Now she wants a job in retail."

The scheme, run by Centrepoint, has been open since March and is officially launched today. It offers intensive support to people aged between 16 and 25, who live in eight self-contained, one-bedroom flats in south-east London. The homes are managed by registered social landlord London & Quadrant.

All the residents are in priority need – usually ex-offenders or at risk of offending – and are referred to the flats by Lewisham's homeless persons unit, the youth offending team, social services or other Centrepoint projects. The bill for each person is £9000 a year but it is a worthwhile investment – offenders aged 15-17 who end up in custody cost at least £75,000 each per year, according to the Commission Racial Equality.

The scheme is part of L&Q's and the council's commitment to tackling social exclusion and its ethos is simple, according to Sharon Lewis, manager of the Centrepoint floating support team that serves the project. "We help them live independently and manage their homes but also to develop self-esteem and confidence, which is vital if they're to stay in housing."

Like most councils, Lewisham had little independent housing for young, vulnerable people, so in 2001 it decided to create some accommodation specially. The following year London & Quadrant converted a disused pub in Deptford. The £450,000 bill was met by the Housing Corporation and Lewisham council – the scheme was developed before the launch of the Supporting People care services funding regime – and L&Q spent thousands more to evict squatters.

Centrepoint got involved because of its expertise in youth homelessness and floating social care support.

Each flat has basic appliances, carpets, curtains and a bed, but residents have to buy their own bed linen and food. The project is unique because it provides intensive support within a small development and allows residents to stay for up to 18 months.

Lewis explains: "We offer long-term housing support, not three or six months like most other schemes. And we're not a probation hostel – there's an element of choice to people being here; they have long offending histories and they want to make a change."

Those referred have to be single, homeless, have high support needs like Johnson and pay rent through housing benefit.

They also have to be willing to work on a set of individuals goals drawn up with staff.

We help them to develop self-esteem and confidence, which are vital if they’re to stay housed 

Sharon Lewis, Centrepoint

Lewis' floating support team, made up of 11 people, visits residents weekly for up to two hours at a time and also operates at projects in four other London boroughs. Support worker Paul Grey says the first step is to go through a welcome pack: "This gives the resident information about what we do. We also go over the referral procedure so they know how they've got here, and we tell them how we'll plan to help them to move on."

The scheme uses Centrepoint's "firm foundations" philosophy, in which housing, income, health, skills such as cooking X X and filling in forms, basic skills such as reading and writing, education and training are seen as vital for independent living.

These issues, explains Grey, are discussed weekly with residents and built into the support plan. To keep the tenancy, they must stick to the plan, which could include advice with budgets, for example.

Those not working get their weekly rent of £78.50 covered by housing benefit and get £44 jobseekers' allowance a week. They plan for about £20 a week on food, £7 on electricity and up to £10 on gas, leaving just £7 for extras such as clothes. Those in work can expect up to £150 a week for something like a job in a fast-food restaurant.

The young person will be set weekly tasks, ensuring that those who have not yet found a job or a training course use their time constructively – these could be to sign on with a doctor or to complete a housing benefit form.

Getting work is difficult for ex-offenders but the Centrepoint team is building links with employers who are willing to take on excluded youngsters.

Breaking bad habits
It is too early to tell which of the residents will be able to turn their lives around – it can take up to 12 months to see progress. "The offending behaviour is a symptom of whatever they've gone through for years so it'll take a while to break that down," says Lewis. However, the plan is for Lewisham council's homeless persons unit to rehouse the young people when they leave.

Inevitably, one or two are drawn back to their old lifestyle. "The most challenging part is not working with young people but dealing with the influence of their peers," says Grey. "Getting away from that bad influence can be tough."

One resident is currently on remand, accused of stealing a mobile phone from a shop, but his flat is being kept on because he can still claim housing benefit while on remand; another has just returned to the flats after being sent back to a young offenders' institution for breaking his curfew.

So when do Lewis and Grey end a tenancy? "When a person refuses to work with us, or builds up arrears and refuses to take responsibility, we know it's not really working any more," says Lewis.