Housing & Support

Our Approach

Homelessness is a complex issue. People find themselves homeless for a variety of reasons and the help they need to improve their situation is specific to each individual. There is no quick fix.

Our strategy to combat local homelessness is to provide people with individually based support solutions that aim to keep them safe from homelessness over the long-term. Providing a safe place to stay is just the beginning: it is personal support and guidance that we believe really changes lives.

Accommodation

We offer short-term supported housing for individual men and women between the ages of 18 and 65. Across four projects we provide 108 beds, including 67 hostel rooms, 22 flats, seven shared flats (14 beds) and a five-bedroomed house. Each project has a different level of support to match the needs of its residents. Our hostel at 56 Westover Road is the central focus of our housing provision in the Bournemouth and Poole area.

All applications are considered individually. Our 48 local authority-funded hostel beds (which require the applicant to have a local connection), are accessible via a referral from the Supporting People (SP) Hub at Bournemouth Town Hall. For details, please visit the customer services entrance of the Town Hall on St. Stephen’s Road, or call 01202 451451 and ask to speak to Housing Options. This should be the first port of call for local people experiencing housing difficulties.

The other 19 hostel beds and 41 move-on flats can be applied for directly by completing a referral application. Please note we currently have severely limited availability but are working to expand our provision.

If applicants are not working it is possible that housing benefit will cover most of the rent with a ‘top-up’ to be paid for those things that housing benefit does not cover, such as heating and meals from the restaurant.

If you have any questions about our supported housing, please contact us using the form below.

Personal Support and Guidance

Our aim is to equip our residents with the skills and confidence they need to ‘move on’ to independent living and a positive long-term future. To this end we provide a range of free or subsidised support:

• Free gym membership and a sports hall for team games
• Monitored facilities to ensure safety and security
• 24/7 support on-site, including drug and alcohol support
• One-to-one sessions with a key worker
• Help to regain confidence and motivation (inc. residential trips)
• Addiction Support Programmes (Chaplaincy)
• Lifeskills e.g. money management and healthy eating
• Benefits and budgeting advice
• CV assistance and computer access for job searches
• Mediating between the resident and local authorities
• Counselling
• Full engagement with statutory services to empower and enable our residents
• Residents’ lounge area
• Laundry facilities
• Restaurant (hostel only)
• Assistance in securing a long-term housing solution

Find Help

Our main focus is on providing people with individually based support solutions that aim to keep them safe from homelessness over the long-term.

For anyone seeking accommodation we recommend they first contact BCP Council or visit our Find Help page for additional options.

For further information or a referral form for rooms at YMCA Bournemouth, please contact us here.