Housing Support

The Housing Support project provides support for young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. This is GISDA’s largest project and it is funded by the Welsh government. Within the supporting people team we employ key workers, support workers, sleep-in workers, and an asset coordinator. Through this project we are able to provide support for 62 young people throughout Gwynedd at any one time.

We currently have accommodation in Caernarfon, Felinheli, Llanrug and Blaenau Ffestiniog, along with shared accommodation in Dolgellau. We provide accommodation for 31 young people – 26 of them single and 5 receiving family support within family housing. We also support a further 31 young people within our communities with referrals coming from all over Gwynedd.

Our staff provide a support package tailored to meet each individual’s needs, delivered through our own therapeutic model of support (‘Model Fi’). We hope that this support will help each individual gain an understanding of their rights and responsibilities, foster a sense of independence, and equip them with the skills they’ll need later in life.

Our support covers the following areas:

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We support vulnerable young people in hostels, houses and flats. We also provide counselling, personal advisers, mediation and alternative education, along with advice on housing, education, work and more.

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Just six pounds could pay for transportation for a young person to attend an interview.

Ten pounds could provide enough food for a week for a young person.

Twelve pounds could pay a young person’s utilities in the hostel for a week.

Each individual will work with their key worker towards their individual support goals during weekly support sessions. Their personalized action plan is reviewed every six weeks and this informs their overall support plan and risk assessment, both of which are updated quarterly. We also offer a variety of services within this project, including a drop-in service and a 24 hour on-call service. These services offer individuals advice and guidance on the following topics:

Housing
Benefits and form filling
Debts or outstanding payments
Grant applications
Supporting letters
Communicating with outside agencies
Work and volunteering

We hope to help each individual build positive and trusting relationships by working hard to ensure no young person faces discrimination, that they are fully accepted into the wider community, and that their accommodation needs are met.

We strongly believe that everyone should have fair and equal opportunities. We explain to our young people what their rights and responsibilities are, what we expect from them, and what they can expect from us. We treat every individual with equal respect and we always appreciate hearing feedback about our services.