Gareth's story

Read about how the Supporting People Programme changed Gareth's life for the better...

What were the circumstances which led to you needing your support provider?
I was homeless and living in a tent. I was trying to overcome drug addiction but this is difficult when you don’t have secure accommodation.

Which organisation/support provider helped you?
Solas' Dyfrig House scheme in Cardiff

How did your support provider help you? Dyfrig House is a place where I feel safe. I have been in other hostels where I feel like I have to watch my back, but not here. Support to go swimming has helped improve my self confidence. I wouldn’t have liked using the changing room with lots of other people when I was homeless, but I now feel confident, even when it’s busy. I’ve also had support to enrol on the Footsteps to Recovery programme to address my substance misuse issues and now that I have completed this I have enrolled on the MILE programme to help me fulfil my life goal of becoming a substance misuse worker.

What did you find most valuable about your support provider?
The fact that it is a dry hostel means I feel safe.

Where would you be now if it wasn’t for your support provider?
I really couldn’t say, but a lot closer to my death for sure.

What are your hopes and aspirations for the future?
To become a substance misuse worker. For now I need to stay clean, complete the MILE programme and start my volunteering.

Christopher's story

Christopher explains how the Supporting People Programme has changed his life...


What were the circumstances which led to you needing your support provider?
I was homeless following the breakdown of a relationship and I was abusing alcohol and drugs. I didn’t take my medication and my mental health deteriorated which resulted in me being admitted to hospital following a suicide attempt


Which organisation/support provider helped you? 
Solas' Dyfrig House scheme in Cardiff.


How did your support provider help you?
They help me massively. With my mental health problems, I always feel like people have looked down on me, but here there are people who listen, who I am able to talk to.

I have a roof over my head and people to show me the steps and give me the tools to get through my illness.


What did you find most valuable about your support provider?
Having people who listen and who are always there if I need to talk.


Where would you be now if it wasn’t for your support provider?
Probably 6 feet under or in hospital due to the drink or my mental health.


What are your hopes and aspirations for the future?
To get better, and to one day move on and hopefully help people in my position and to be able to tell them there’s light at the end of the tunnel because there IS hope.

Digital Co-operative Housing in Wales

Further to the One Big Housing Conference 2015 in Llandrindod Wells where the Wales Co-operative Centre exhibited and Dave Brown, our Director of Communities and Inclusion, ran a session on ‘Meeting the Skills Gap’, I’m ‘Identifying the Opportunity within a Challenge’ by demonstrating the use of digital inclusion within co-operative housing across Wales.

The Centre has been supporting the development of co-operative housing across Wales for three years which has grown from eight ‘pioneers’ to nearly thirty schemes. Forty-one of these social rented homes are now occupied in Cardiff, where the Home Farm Village housing co-operative members communicate through a closed Facebook site and photos are tweeted by Cadwyn HA, who helped develop the scheme. Some of the residents hadn’t used social media before so being part of the group, and with the support of other co-operative members, their participation and skills have increased which demonstrates the power of formal and informal volunteering. They now resolve issues and keep each other informed about suppliers, service providers, refuse collection and anti-social behaviour, through Facebook.

The Wales Co-operative Centre also has a strong track record in the area of digital inclusion. It is currently delivering the Digital Communities Wales project for Welsh Government. The Centre has been helping communities get online since 2005 and was the lead delivery partner of the Welsh Government’s Communities@One and Communities 2.0 projects, both funded by the European Union. The Centre has extensive experience of developing and implementing co-operative solutions to strengthen communities and promote inclusion.

Recent statistics show that 56% of social housing tenants have broadband access compared to 78% of the total population. The aim is for 100% of co-operative residents to be digitally included. One way in which this is being achieved is by tenants using social media, as a platform that brings people together.

In Merthyr Tydfil, ‘Taf Fechan’ Housing co-op has recently set up a Facebook page and website. They have free wi-fi in all flats and hope to carry out most of their training and business electronically. They also tweet - @Taffechancoop.

There are other good examples of this all over Wales. In Newport, where nineteen leasehold shared-ownership homes are currently being built, members communicate through a closed Facebook site and also have a public page. There will be opportunities in future to market available properties through social media.

In Carmarthenshire, founder members of a site that has twenty-seven ‘Intermediate Rent’ homes also have a closed and public Facebook page. Members have chosen the co-op’s logo, street names and internal finishes for the homes through the Facebook page. Training presentations are uploaded to the Facebook site for members that can’t make any of the regular meetings. An emerging group in Powys uses Facebook as they start to engender interest.

Further North, in Wrexham, a small self-build housing co-op has both a website and Facebook site. They have gone public online with the website and have already accumulated over 300 likes on Facebook. They are getting some great messages of support from local community and from those already working on sustainable projects.

There is a large Community Land Trust in Pembrokeshire, which is establishing a website that links into the local community council’s website. In Swansea there is a small established housing co-op that also has a Facebook presence.

All of this not only shows the power of social media, but it provides a great opportunity to help people do more online as they develop housing co-operatives – a win-win as far as we’re concerned. The development and interconnection of all these co-ops across would not be possible without social media and the support of the Wales Co-operative Centre and the Confederation of Co-operative Housing.


Dave Palmer, Wales Co-operative Centre

A case study - PORTH Supporting People Service

PORTH is a Supporting People service provided by Tai Ceredigion for elderly and vulnerable people through the county.

The service is provided in our Sheltered Schemes and any individual from the community can access the service by arranging an appointment and visiting a scheme which is most convenient to them. Referrals for support can be made by statutory or voluntary services, or by self referral. The advisors can talk through each concern and then work with each person to achieve the desired goals.

The scheme can help with benefit enquiries, financial matters, mobility issues, housing issues and general help with accessing social support and services.

Our client, 'Mrs Neighbour' was referred to the PORTH service from a partner agency with concerns for escalating rent arrears.

The initial assessment identified many areas of need including mounting debts, high rent arrears and potential homelessness, inappropriate and damp private rented accommodation, failing physical health, mental health issues and the inability to manage life on a day to day basis.

PORTH worked with Mrs Neighbour to understand what the personal goals and priorities were and then liaised with specialist agencies where necessary. Negotiations were made with her current landlord to buy time to try and reduce the rent arrears, medical information was supplied and the Environmental agency accessed to maximise the award of points for the housing register to try to move client Mrs Neighbour into more affordable and sustainable social housing.

This was successful, and 'Mrs Neighbour' was able to move into sheltered accommodation some months later and so avoiding certain homelessness.


PORTH supported Mrs Neighbour to successfully:

• Apply for ESA & SDP, PIP and DHP. 
• Also to declare bankruptcy (via a CAB financial specialist)
• To obtain a grant of £700 towards rent arrears
• To manage medication through liaison with the GP and chemist
• To attend relevant medical appointments
• To set up utility accounts
• To open a suitable bank account for direct debits.

Buddug Lewis

Tai Ceredigion Housing Manager

By offering support and guidance, the service assisted with many aspects of Mrs Neighbour's life. It was noted that there was a marked improvement in their mental health, general wellbeing and the ability to sustain an independent life in suitable accommodation.

One Big Housing Conference #chchousing15

Brett Sadler, Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods at North Wales Housing, blogged about our recent One Big Housing Conference... 

I hadn’t been to a Community Housing Cymru (CHC) event for at least a few years, so when I saw the agenda for the One Big Housing Conference, I thought it looked worthwhile attending.

First a bit of background. CHC are the representative body for housing associations and community mutuals in Wales, which are all not-for profit organisations. The venue for the event is the famous Metropole Hotel (trust me – if you have been there, you’d understand why its famous). It’s a sprawling hotel in Llandrindod Wells, often jokingly described in Wales as ‘equally inconvenient for the North and South’. For me personally it was a 2½ hour drive from North Wales to get there – fact. It’s also the only hotel I know where there is no mobile signal within the hotel…..anywhere.

And so to the conference itself. If you have never been to a CHC event before, they are very professionally run. Everything electronic (rather than the usual half a ream of papers given at the start of a conference), screens with the latest tweets up on the wall and clearly signposted rooms for each session.

The first conference session was from Andy Crowe titled ‘I’m a Housing Exec, GET ME OUT OF HERE!’, talking about his experience of working on the island of St Helena and the uphill struggles this entailed, although as I tweeted below, its not all work...

To read more, please visit Brett's blog to read his original post. 

Spotlight on Caring & Repairing

Break-in Britain Series 2 - The Crackdown

So in the middle of January 2015, Tony and I (Lyndon) were invited into Kelly Jones’s office. We were informed that we had volunteered for a special assignment involving the normal day to day work we carry out, but this time with the cameras of the BBC recording our every move!

We of course were naturally overjoyed to be the focal point of such attention, whilst showcasing the burgeoning talents of Swansea Care & Repair and Care & Repair services to the full. So after a discussion on materials and likely job types, and the possibility of one or two other members of staff joining in the fun, and the likelihood of “short notice” warnings of filming, we vacated Kelly’s office and returned to our duties.

A week or so later, the call came from upstairs that Tony and I were to report to a property in the Baglan area to install some security equipment as yet undecided. The BBC film crew would meet us there later. We duly arrived at the property of Dennis and Ann, and discovered the need to install new lockable window handles, patio door locks and the like for Tony, and a couple of security lights and a burglar alarm for me. We immediately set about our respective tasks and the BBC film crew along with the presenter Dan Donnelly soon arrived. They then proceeded to enquire about our work by asking us (individually) to explain to the camera what we were doing, and how the expected completion of our tasks would benefit the householders concerned. This we had to deliver several times as the “mike” was not working, or the wind was too “noisy”, or someone fudged his lines (Dan). They then proceeded to film us actually installing various items, and Dan the presenter even lent a hand (honest). Everything proceeded as planned; all electrical items were tested and certificated as required. Although fitting the burglar alarm sounder box on the outside wall of the property did prove problematic for me on the ladder and the BBC cameraman filming, while the snow was falling! Burglar alarm programmed and tested (with Tony’s assistance), we vacated the property, leaving the householders Dennis and Ann feeling safe in their home once more.

Two weeks later, the second week of February 2015, Tony and I were despatched to the Mumbles area to help Jackie, a single mother who works for the Prison service, after she had been burgled. To this end we installed a wireless alarm system, a security light at the rear and Tony fitted a new lock and some “sash jammers” etc. We were then joined by several more members of Care & Repair when David and Steve and even Raymond turned up to help fit a fence and gate at the rear of the property (this can be seen in the title sequence of the broadcast programmes where I am passing a fence panel to Dan, while Steve holds a drill, and Dave looks busy). In the first episode of programmes in series 2, all members of the Care & Repair team in attendance at the property ended up being shown on TV! Also at this address, we were pleased to encounter an ex-Care & Repair member Lloyd Thomas installing a new UPVC door and window assembly to the rear porch as part of the upgraded security measures for the property. As can be seen on the programme, Jackie says she will now be able to sleep at night knowing that her safety rating is much higher than before.

All in all it was really satisfying to help out in the above situations and, perhaps as it's being televised, it might raise the profile of Care & Repair and show the general public we really are there to help with their comfort, safety, and security.

Kelly Jones, Chief Officer
Swansea Care & Repair