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Housing Support Services To Refugees: A Service Specification

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Service Specification

Accessibility of Application Process

Principle:

All applicants who may be entitled to re-housing should be:

  • aware of their rights, and
  • be able to access the application process

Context:

Local authorities should ensure that people have fair and open access to housing list and assessment processes and work with voluntary sector and council-based services to maximise and simplify access routes into housing. This is a relevant performance standard of Communities Scotland, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, CoSLA and the Scottish Executive.

Selected Good Practice:

In supporting applicants or potential applicants to exercise the rights identified above, some local authorities:

  • Display posters and leaflets in libraries, at information points in council offices or other housing providers, in buses and other public places. In selecting locations local authorities take into account places that may be routinely visited by members of BME (black and minority ethnic) communities.
  • Raise their profile through liaison with community organisations ( e.g. groups representing disabled people). This is sometimes achieved by employing generalist or specialist outreach workers whose job it is to advise on applicants' rights, homelessness processes and other local authority services. In doing so, they enlist the organisations' support in bringing this information to the attention of service users. One of the additional benefits of working with voluntary sector organisations is that specific unmet needs of particular communities are identified and built into future processes. Outreach workers may also provide advice/assessment sessions in appropriate venues within the community.
  • Offer translation/interpreting services to anybody wishing to enquire about or apply for housing.
  • Accept referrals from a large number of statutory and non-statutory organisations through the use of formalised referral procedures.
  • Ensure housing application forms are comprehensive giving applicants an opportunity to explain all the reasons for their application. They are often written in plain English, with translation/interpreting services available for those who require it. Alternatively they use a minimal registration form, immediately succeeded by an interview or home visit.
  • Keep records of applications by and lettings to people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, refugees, disabled people and other groups. The data collected are analysed to ensure that take up reflects the make up of the general population and the expected needs of such communities.

Additional Refugee Needs

Additional Refugee Needs

Suggested Good Practice

Notes on Needs

Need : Refugees need information communicated and support given as soon as possible aftera positive decision from the Home Office since all those accommodated by NASS must vacate the accommodation within one month

In addressing the need for early advice and assistance, local authorities should establish effective referral processes with accommodation providers by:

  • Identifying, if possible, the main types of accommodation in which refugee applicants have been living ( e.g. specific NASS supported accommodation, detention centres) and build relationships to ensure newly recognised refugees who want accommodation in the area are referred to the housing department, with a note of any specific housing and support needs. The use of a pro-forma referral sheet is suggested.
  • Providing large NASS accommodation suppliers ( e.g. Glasgow City Council) with all relevant housing department contact names and telephone numbers so that early notification of prospective arrivals can be made.

Need: Refugees need more information than the general population in order to provide context for the services and processes that the local authority delivers

In meeting these additional needs local authorities should adapt and develop information resources that are appropriate in terms of language and cultural sensitivity. These may include:

  • Homelessness and housing allocation processes explaining clearly the chronology of an application, refugee applicants' rights and responsibilities and possible decisions with their implications
  • An orientation guide to assist refugees in identifying which council departments they can access for which services with contact names and telephone numbers. The Guide could be extended to cover more comprehensive information such as details about the area and other aspects of Scottish life that will assist in general integration ( e.g. bus links, ESOL/other educational classes, places of worship, JobCentre Plus). An example publication has been produced by the Red Cross in Glasgow and copies in different languages are available from its Glasgow office - 2 Swan Street, Glasgow, G4 OAX.
  • An adaptation, based on their own area, of the Communities Scotland Guide "Providing Information to Refugees; A Good Practice Checklist". Copies can be obtained by contacting Homepoint, Communities Scotland, Thistle House, 91 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, EH12 5HE (telephone - 0131 3130044)

Focus group discussions revealed that immediately after a positive decision, the general lack of knowledge of the area, its amenities and what it had to offer impeded refugees' integration, especially if they were not accommodated there whilst awaiting Home Office decisions on their applications. In addition, they lacked knowledge of the welfare state (in its broadest sense). These two factors combined to prevent refugees making informed choices about their housing options.

Need: Refugees need coordinated and holistic assistance in relation to local authority services to prevent disorientation

A combination of close liaison with the voluntary sector and internal organisation is recommended to address this need. In practical terms, local authorities may:

  • Ensure that all organisations that could be approached by refugees new to the area ( e.g. faith groups, places of worship, community welfare organisations) have access to information on housing and homelessness services locally and how applications are made. Telephone details should be provided and organisations made aware of referral protocols, if appropriate.
  • Consider EITHER appointing a key caseworker within the housing/homelessness department to be responsible for keeping abreast of refugee policy and liaison with NASS providers and to be primarily responsible for interview and initial assessment of refugee applicants. Such a worker could act as principal council contact for refugees so that other issues requiring Council services can be identified and internal referrals made as appropriate.
  • OR, Consider establishing a multi disciplinary team that is dedicated to identifying and meeting refugee needs. This would enable housing and other services to be delivered holistically saving staff time and resources ( e.g. making efficient use of interpreter time).

Research disclosed that on arrival in a new area, refugees routinely made contact with members of the same community or religion. Faith groups and places of worship were identified in particular as venues where this contact was initiated. If the local authority and these agencies cooperate around information provision and early referral it is likely that refugees will receive greater support from their communities.

One of the recurring themes in focus groups was the frustration of refugees who tried to access services but felt that internal bureaucracy presented barriers to all their needs being met within a reasonable period.

The two suggested options should be regarded as alternatives. Appointing a key member of staff is likely to be an option attractive to smaller authorities while larger authorities with more than 100 refugee applicants per year may wish to opt for the team approach. A team may not be one with an exclusive focus on refugees but rather specific officers from within a range of departments who retain communications with regard to the refugees who present to the local authority.

Need: Refugees have additional needs and anxieties, some of which they share with members of black and minority ethnic communities, such as interpretation facilities, that have to be taken into account in providing a satisfactory housing service

In addition to often poor spoken and/or written English language skills, refugees may also have had traumatic experiences at the hands of officials in their countries of origin. Local authority processes ought to be sensitive to these issues to ensure an adequate response to their housing applications. The following may assist:

  • Compile a list of contact telephone numbers for quality assured interpretation services ( e.g. Languageline) including those available outside office hours and on an emergency basis and introduce staff to appropriate use of interpreters. This assumes no internal interpretation service.
  • Ensure, when communicating with refugee applicants, that if possible letters are read and translated in their presence and that they fully comprehend the implications.
  • Review current training provision for staff who are likely to deal with refugees directly.
  • Training should include instruction on how a need for interpretation is identified and catered for. Local authorities may also choose to invite refugees to informal team meetings to discuss their experiences as a refugee including their perceptions of the services they have received previously.
  • Consider providing an introductory course in counselling for housing department staff likely to interview refugees. This will allow refugees who have been the victims of torture to be recognised as such and receive appropriate sensitivity in their interviews. An early diagnosis of the need for mental health services will also enable referral to the social work department.
  • Assess the feasibility of undertaking interviews/assessments in settings that are familiar to refugeese.g. organisations which have assisted them previously or are assisting them currently, preferably with individuals who are able to translate and subsequently reinforce implications of any choices or decisions taken by the local authority.

Experience from refugee focus groups that have been undertaken in Scotland and England have revealed incidents of at best cultural misunderstanding and at worst, racist and discriminatory behaviour on the part of local authority staff. Refugees confirm that such treatment undermines their confidence and adversely affects their perceptions of the local authority.

Caution should be taken to ensure that those providing interpretation are of a satisfactory standard. Otherwise, qualified interpreters should be engaged.

Identifying and Meeting Housing Needs

Principle:

All applicants who may be entitled to re-housing should:

  • have their applications assessed fairly without direct or indirect discrimination,
  • be able to access independent advice on their housing options, and
  • be allocated accommodation, if a right is established, that is appropriate to their needs.

Context:

Communities Scotland's Performance Standards require that accommodation must be let in a way that gives reasonable preference to those in housing need, makes best use of available stock, maximises choice and helps sustain communities. A wealth of legislation and other guidance sets out the processes and issues that need to be adhered to and taken into account by local authorities in determining applications for re-housing and allocations once a duty is established.

Selected Good Practice:

Advice and Information

  • Where choice-based lettings operate, local authorities have often been proactive in giving advice and assistance, making information available not only on the internet, but also in leaflets in different community languages, in Braille and audio tapes. They also post regular information to vulnerable people who cannot easily access it otherwise.
  • Social landlords are required by statute to make and publish rules governing allocation of housing, transfers and exchanges. A summary of these rules and additional features related to the framework for assessment of applications is often written up in an accessible format and provided to all housing applicants.
  • Where a common housing register (see below) is not in operation, information is made available by local authorities on the options available in relation to other housing providers and private sector landlords in the area.
  • Referral systems have been established with advice agencies and solicitors to ensure that, where it is wanted, applicants can access independent legal advice on their housing options.

Making determinations

  • All staff dealing with housing-related matters in relation to the public are trained to identify any applicant who may be homeless or threatened with homelessness and refer them to the local authority's homelessness section.
  • Common Housing Registers often make it easier for people to apply for the full range of housing options, without having to make multiple applications. Using a common application form, including a common assessment process which includes health priority, simplifies and maximises access to housing and makes the process easier to understand.
  • Local authorities often undertake a home visit as soon as possible after receiving or (provisionally) accepting an application in order to verify the housing situation. This opportunity can be used to clarify housing options.
  • Some local authorities assess medical priority for re-housing based on the applicant's self-assessment and without routine referral to medical professionals. Where this is done, local authorities usually have other systems to safeguard applicants whose self assessment may be less than comprehensive.
  • Local authorities generally accept information about custody or access of/to children without insisting on copies of legal documents.
  • A person-centred and sensitive approach is taken when an applicant reports fear of or actual harassment or violence.
  • Sometimes housing review groups are formed to consider housing applications outside the normal points/groups system, provided any alternative process is transparent and follows clear guidance.

Monitoring

  • Lets are monitored to discover which housing needs have been met, whether lettings give reasonable preference according to housing need, and whether equal opportunities issues arise from allocations.
  • Regular reviews of allocations policies are undertaken to ensure that they meet objectives for addressing housing need, in the light of data being collected. There is a statutory duty on all social landlords to consult tenants on any such review.

Additional Refugee Needs

Additional Refugee Needs

Suggested Good Practice

Notes on Needs

Need : Refugees need an assessment process that will satisfactorily take account of their specific needs to identify priority need and make appropriate allocations of housing.

Refugees who have been the victims of torture or have experienced other traumatic events such as the violent deaths of relatives will need to be given an opportunity to disclose these accounts by local authorities:

  • Reviewing current forms and processes to ensure they capture uniquely relevant information such as psychological vulnerability or housing preferences that will avoid a deterioriation in health.
  • Reviewing guidance to housing officers to ensure that the specific needs of refugees are taken into account in assessments and allocations e.g. where there is a need for an applicant to be near to a member of his/her family or people from the same ethnic group.

Need: Refugees to whom a duty to re-house is established need to be accommodated in ways that will minimise the risk of racial harassment and enhance their prospects of integration into the local community.

Allocations policies as they affect refugees may require modification in the light of the experience elsewhere when placement of refugees in inappropriate housing and locations has seen further social marginalisation and risked their safety. Policies may be adapted or actions taken in the following ways:

  • In allocating temporary accommodation, efforts should be made to avoid placing refugees in hostel type or bed and breakfast accommodation ( i.e. non self contained accommodation) due to increased risk of harassment and attack. Relationships with local registered social landlords should be exploited to ensure maximum stocks of appropriate temporary housing for refugees.
  • Where possible, avoid allocations of temporary/permanent accommodation in high rise developments.
  • Where permanent accommodation is being allocated, take account of refugees' right to family reunion. Following the grant of refugee status, a refugee's immediate dependents are entitled to residence in the United Kingdom. Details of these family members need to be taken in the event of a refugee indicating an intention to exercise this right.
  • Determinations should take account of a refugee's preference of area given his/her heightened need for social supports such as friends, family or place of worship or other community organisation.
  • Where possible, housing allocations policies should be based around twin objectives of faciliating contact with friends, family and other community support networks whilst not creating concentrations of refugees of different ethnic or national origin. The latter objective is more relevant in local authorities in larger towns or cities.

Whilst it is obviously the case that each application from a refugee applicant should be considered on its own merits and his/her individual preferences, there is clear evidence from the research undertaken that refugees in general share concerns about the nature of the allocations that have been made on their and/or other refugees' applications. It is these general principles that inform these recommendations.

By far, high rise flats were the most unpopular type of accommodation mentioned by refugees in the focus groups. For many, this is the first experience they have had of being in a tall building. Numerous reports of fears in poor weather and concern for children's safety have contributed to this sense of trepidation.

Refugees reported that allocations to particular areas in the past had made the risk of physical assualt more likely. All refugees interviewed reported racist incidents from "low level" name calling to serious violence . Refugees are also less familiar with, and therefore greatly intimidated by, public drunkenness. Single women, particularly, felt that their quality of life was hugely impaired and their movements restricted by living in daily contact with drunkenness and drug taking.

Need: As soon as accommodation has been allocated refugees need to be provided with advice and assistance to ensure that they and their families receive all other services and benefits to which they are entitled.

Disorientation and confusion as to supports available have often made the time at and immediately after re-housing particularly difficult for refugees. Routinely, it has taken several months to make practical arrangements regarding education, training, benefits and employment that could have been made in a much shorter timescale. To minimise this disruption local authorities may consider:

  • Taking action to link the refugee and his/her family to benefits advice, ( e.g. Social Fund payment, Job Seekers Allowance and any disability benefits that may be appropriate). Similar arrangements should be made to expedite claims for housing benefit to prevent delay and/or missed payments.

Need: Refugees who take responsibility for securing their own accommodation need accessible information on options that may exist within the private rented sector.

Not all refugees will choose to be accommodated in social housing. Sometimes an allocation has not provided the area of their choice or they may simply prefer to live in the private rented sector. To meet this demand and provide more housing choice local authorities could:

  • Provide local libraries and organisations who work with refugees with access to any databases or written information giving details of private landlords (preferably those who are approved by the local authority) and registered social landlords with information on availabile accommodation.
  • Ensure equal access for refugees to any pre-existing bond guarantee arrangements locally.

The research showed that some refugees preferred the greater choice of accommodation within the privately rented sector due to the risks of racial harassment on public housing estates. This had been a choice made by at least one quarter of longer established refugees who took part in the focus groups.

Need: Refugees in social housing who contemplate re-locating elsewhere need information and advice as to the legal and practical implications of such a move.

Local authorities need to take account of the fact that refugees are more likely than the general population to determine to move be closer to relatives or social networks elsewhere. To facilitate these wishes, however, local authorities should:

  • Interview any refugee considering surrendering a tenancy to public housing or arrange an appointment with a suitably qualified advice worker to explain the consequences of this decision e.g. the need in England and Wales to establish a local connection with the area of choice and the effects of "intentionality" whereby applicants can be denied assistance if they are found to have abandoned accommodation without reasonable excuse.

Housing Support Services to Refugees

For a large number of refugees the process of integration into the local community is made more difficult as a result of a range of different factors including isolation, poor language skills, health (including mental health) problems, lack of awareness of rights and responsibilities, poor local information and fears over community safety.

Some if not all of these barriers can be addressed (even if not wholly resolved) through services that fit within the Supporting People definition of housing support services as set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (Housing Support Services) Regulations 2002. These are listed below:

1. General counselling and support including befriending, advising on food preparation, reminding and non-specialist counselling where this does not overlap with similar services provided as personal care or personal support.

2. Assisting with the security of the dwelling required because of the needs of the service user.

3. Assisting with the maintenance of the safety of the dwelling.

4. Advising and supervising service users on the use of domestic equipment and appliances.

5. Assisting with arranging minor repairs to and servicing of a service user's own domestic equipment and appliances.

6. Providing life skills training in maintaining the dwelling and curtilage in appropriate condition.

7. Assisting the service user to engage with individuals, professionals and other bodies with an interest in the welfare of the service user.

8. Arranging adaptations to enable the service user to cope with disability.

9. Advising or assisting the service user with personal budgeting and debt counselling.

10. Advising or assisting the service user in dealing with relationships and disputes with neighbours.

11. Advising or assisting the service user in dealing with benefit claims and other official correspondence relevant to sustaining occupancy of the dwelling.

12. Advising or assisting with resettlement of the service user.

13. Advising or assisting the service user to enable him or her to move on to accommodation where less intense support is required.

14. Assisting with shopping and errands where this does not overlap with similar services provided as personal care or personal support.

15. Providing and maintaining emergency alarm and call systems in accommodation designed or adapted for and occupied by elderly, sick or disabled people.

16. Responding to emergency alarm calls, where such calls relate to any of the housing support services prescribed in other paragraphs of this Schedule, in accommodation designed or adapted for and occupied by elderly, sick or disabled people.

17. Controlling access to individual service users' rooms.

18. Cleaning of service users' own rooms and windows.

19. Providing for the costs of resettlement services.

20. Encouraging social intercourse and welfare checks for residents of accommodation supported by either a resident warden or a non-resident warden with a system for calling that warden where this does not overlap with similar services provided as personal care or personal support.

21. Arranging social events for residents of accommodation supported by either a resident warden or a non-resident warden with a system for calling that warden.

As with other client groups needs will vary in type and extent from one individual to another and, as evidence from the focus groups demonstrated, it is important not to treat the guidance as suggesting that refugees should be treated as a homogenous group. For example, there may be a greater need on the part of those who have suffered from torture in their countries of origin for more psychological support. Others who lack English language skills and have more difficulty in orienting themselves locally will require more assistance to access benefits through advice services.

It is important that in applying the guidance contained in the Specification and developing services that may or may not be funded by Supporting People, local authorities bear in mind the need to treat all refugees as individuals and undertake proper assessment prior to offering the service.

The research bears out the fact that most refugees do require some form of housing support services. In the majority of these cases, refugees and their families need a period of initial intensive housing support to meet their immediate needs. The need for housing support services will become more specific to the individual as particular needs are identified from that initial work.

This makes it incumbent on local authorities to ensure, as suggested in the Introduction, that information is pooled and that there are the internal structures in place to guarantee a holistic approach across departments.

It is also worth bearing in mind that in some areas, where the expertise and awareness exists, it may provide a better service to refugees to contract out or support voluntary organisations in accessing Supporting People funds to carry out the activities involved in assisting vulnerable refugees. Often, voluntary organisations may be better placed in terms of cultural awareness and sensitivity ( e.g. services undertaken by refugees themselves) to respond to the needs of refugees in a more effective way. It is acknowledged that in Scotland this option will be more practical in some areas than in others. It may also be some time before service level agreements can be adjusted to take the continuing housing needs of refugees into account. Nevertheless, reference to how such needs are to be accommodated ought to be within future plans of all local authorities that identify refugees within their area.

Examples of projects that have been funded (or could be funded) by Supporting People for the benefit of client groups other than refugees

Similar and additional requirements in order to provide this support for refugees and suggested good practice

  • Befriending:

Quarriers in Glasgow run a Befriending Project which introduces formerly homeless young people to trained volunteer befrienders in one to one relationships through sharing social and leisure activities.

  • Refugees on arrival in a new area and subsequently may suffer a number of individual and related problems including:
  • social isolation and a lack of community or family/friend networks
  • orientation difficulties e.g. how to register with a doctor/dentist, finding way around area, transport links and where to shop
  • depression and other mental health problems
  • English language difficulties
  • Lack of opportunity to mix with host community

Increasing numbers of cost efficient projects have been operated by the voluntary sector with support from their local authority which have linked up volunteers from the host community with refugees. Full training is a usual feature of these programmes and care is taken to ensure matches are appropriate according to the specific needs of the particular refugee.

Outcomes that have been identified include greater and faster integration, a reduction of feelings of despair and a greater readiness to remain in the area.

Local authorities may seek to commission services which they may choose to fund through their Supporting People budget

  • General counselling and support:

Shelter Scotland's Single Homeless Persons Support Service is a 2-year pilot study, supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council. The project is open to people without children who are or have recently been homeless or who are at risk of losing their tenancies. Help is offered with obtaining temporary and permanent accommodation, completing forms, preparing a move into accommodation, benefit claims, accessing other specialist services, developing independent living skills, emotional support and talking to housing staff. Volunteer befrienders support tenants on a regular basis.

  • Refugees may have heightened needs for practical and emotional support compared with the general population by virtue of their social isolation, disorientation and lack of friends or family. Evidence from the focus groups suggests these needs originate as soon as NASS accommodation ends and continue for some time after permanent accommodation has been allocated. These were the main areas that were prioritised:
  • Orientation with regard to local authority and other services
  • Assisting with practical arrangements around moving into property including furnishing property and providing instruction on the use of domestic applicances - some refugees will have had no experience with the operation of washing machines etc.
  • Ensuring that the property is secure given the effect on refugees' quality of life that living in areas where racist violence or abuse is more common
  • Advice on personal safety
  • Emotional counselling and possible diagnosis of further psychological support/treatment
  • Floating Tenancy Support:

The Thistle Foundation in Edinburgh provide personalised support for disabled people. A facilitator is appointed to find out what a person wants, who they want to be involved in helping them and how to meet those needs. Staff teams are focused on the individual. All personal assistants are given person-centred training. This project is run by a charity, independent from housing providers.

Eildon Care and Support run a Tenancy Support Service in the Scottish Borders. They are part of Eildon Housing Association and provide support mainly, but not exclusively, to their own tenants. The aim is to help tenants establish and maintain tenancies. Tenants, together with their dedicated Tenancy Support Worker, decide what support they require. The project supports around 75 people at any time. Support workers help with advice and help to set up home, budgeting and money management, information and advice on benefit claims and help with completing forms, advice on aids and adaptations to the home, help with reporting repairs, advice on maintaining the property, help with understanding the conditions and reponsibilities of the tenancy agreement, and help with arranging additional support if necessary. Tenants have a written agreement which is reviewed regularly. Self-referrals are accepted.

East Ayrshire Council run a Tenancy Support Scheme, which is an example of a floating support scheme run by a local authority. Support is flexible and needs-tailored, with varying hours of support. Help is given with benefit claims, completing forms, home making skills, budgeting, advocacy and accessing services. Some staff are placed in health services or hostels. Agencies and individuals can refer to the project.

The West Lothian Tenancy Support Project is a partnership between Penumbra and West Lothian Council. It supports tenants where at least one family member has a social or behavioural difficulty or displays special needs. The aims are to offer flexible support for a period, to reduce hospital admissions due to temporary mental health problems, to prevent evictions or rent arrears, and to assist in crisis intervention. The initial period of support is three months. Housing service resettlement staff visit the tenant to agree a support agreement which is signed by service provider, tenant and landlord. The project is monitored with questionnaires. Sessional support workers are used to ensure flexibility.

  • Combined housing support schemes including floating support and residential supported accommodation:

SUSTAYN provide a service for young people in central Scotland. They are part of Blue Triangle Housing Association and cover nine local authority areas. The service includes supported accommodation, emergency accommodation, parent and child supported accommodation, counselling and education services, floating support services, independent living accommodation and service development initiatives. A floating support scheme offers all day support and 24-hour emergency contacts. Referrals come from the local authority. All people referred for floating support have been looked after by the local authority, and some are parents. They have a range of housing situations. Support is given with accessing and maintaining tenancies, but also with problems of low self-esteem, drug or alcohol use, depression or isolation. Levels of support are based on the needs and wishes of the young person. Support plans are drawn up with the young person and regularly reviewed. Support can vary from one to twenty hours a week. A lot of the support revolves around emotional support and listening, backed up with practical support.

The Richmond Fellowship in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire manage a number of supported accommodation schemes for people with mental health problems. Some of the schemes are houses with 24-hour support staff. Individuals who move to their own tenancies are given outreach support with a support package. One project, which is not linked to accommodation, offers access to recreational, educational and social activities. Another project provides a range of support packages, some of which include accommodation, others that support people in their own homes. Referrals come from hospitals, hostels and individuals. Type and hours of support are flexible. Personal Support and Development Agreements are drawn up. Support is given with everyday household tasks, keeping appointments, maintaining the tenancy, accessing local community centres, colleges and employment.

The St Aubins Project in Aberdeen provides residential accommodation for adults with severe mental health problems, where clients stay for rehabilitation and assessment. Clients are then given help to move to their own tenancies. An oureach support team provides both housing support and personal care. A separate Supporting People Team offers housing support for older people with mental health problems. Outreach workers provide support in a client's own home. Support is flexible and needs-led. This support does not include personal care.

  • The Floating Support model of assistance has been pioneered in many parts of Scotland and the United Kingdom and can be both proactive and reactive. It is important that all refugees in the area are made aware of any services that exist and receive assistance with interpretation, if required.

Whilst core activities revolve around practical support and benefits they are also seen as signposters to other services.

Advice on benefits and debt management, though, is routinely a central element. These are the main areas that were identified as causing problems with refugees during the research:

  • Housing Benefit claim forms (including renewal application forms) and ensuring that there was liaison between the local authority and the landlord, whether private, local authority or registered social landlord.
  • Claims for Job Seekers Allowance/Income Support and liaison with the local Department of Work and Pensions offices to pursue payment.
  • Social Fund Grants. Refugees have routinely under-claimed for items needed to move into permanent accommodation. Assistance is needed to assess needs and identify all items that will be required to set up home. Refugees invariably flee their countries of origin with no possessions (and any savings are often spent on getting to the UK) and have to start afresh in the United Kingdom.
  • Disability benefits such as Disability Living Allowance. Refugees have often fled war zones and have suffered permanent disabilities as a result. In addition, they may suffer debilitating psychological conditions which render them not only incapable of work but also fulfil the criteria for a range of disability benefits.
  • Debt management or counselling and budgeting advice is of particular relevance for refugees since they may not yet have acquired a full appreciation of costs for essential items, especially for those who have left NASS supported accommodation where they have not been responsible for handling cash. One of the findings from the research was that refugees had problems with fuel debt. On average, they spend a great deal more on heating their property than the general population given the change in climate to which they need to become accustomed. They reported understanding central heating systems only after being in occupation for some time and generally underestimating fuel costs.

It should also be borne in mind that assistance is required in obtaining national insurance numbers for refugees.

A full benefits assessment check by a specialist welfare rights worker attached to a wider floating Support Project which comprises a larger team of professionals from different disciplines has been replicated in a number of local authority areas in England and Wales.

Non legal advice and assistance that could potentially be provided via a floating support arrangement or other package of support to refugees involves their responsibilities. The focus groups disclosed that some refugees encountered problems from neighbours and the authorities through cultural misunderstandings and lack of awareness of routine services. The depositing of refuse, for example, was caused by the fact that the system of collection had not been explained nor was notification given as to arrangements for collection (including recycling).

It is also suggested that interpretation and translation facilities should represent a core element of any service of this type.

Refugees will receive letters in relation to a large number of matters, like any new resident. The focus groups demonstrated that these often casued far more anxiety than they warranted.

  • Resettlement Projects:

The Glasgow Simon Community have a resettlement team which offers advice, information, one-to-one and group support to people moving out of hostels and into their own tenancy. Resettlement workers help clients to identify options for housing, complete housing application forms, look at issues around independent living, and access local services. People who have been in a tenancy for six months can receive ongoing housing support through the Tenancy Sustainment Team.

The Access Apna Ghar Housing Association's Refugee Foyer Project in Glasgow has designed a programme offering a full range of support for young asylum seekers aged 18-30. They are provided with homes and helped to find employment or training places, thereby easing their integration at different levels within a supported environment.

Positive Action in Housing has received funding to support their Frontline Housing Advisory Service. This consists of an outreach advice service for refugees in Glasgow who are in need of support with housing related issues such as homelessness, overcrowding, housing and other debt. Positive Action in Housing has also a clear and distinguished record on challenging racial harassment and the trust that their ongoing housing caseload generates allows it to elicit detail of racially motivated crime. In turn this can be addressed at strategic levels with partners within the Council and the police.

  • Ideally, some Supporting People funded projects should provide the bridge between departure from NASS accommodation and allocation of permanent accommodation. Not only will needs (and how a local authority responds) be identified at an early stage, thus preventing risk to tenancies at a later stage but the very significant practical barriers that face refugees at that stage may be reduced. It is also the case that early identification of needs can enable comprehensive signposting. Refugees are anxious to acquire training and employment and maximising the prospects of sustaining tenancies lies in early link up with:
  • Job Centre Plus
  • Education services
  • Adult training services/local colleges
  • Health services
  • Social work services
  • Relevant voluntary sector organisations
  • Faith groups (who have been instrumental in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom in creating social networks for newly confirmed refugees).
  • Housing support linked to a specific tenancy:

Edinburgh Cyrenians offer support to their own tenants in one of six properties, and offer visiting support on behalf of Old Town Housing Associations. New tenants are given support to set up their tenancies and to maintain and manage their home, and will then move into unsupported tenancies. Support is offered to vulnerable young people, people with a previous failed tenancy, former hostel tenants or rough sleepers, people with past alcohol or substance abuse, and ex-offenders. Support is given with benefits advice, debt and budgeting, home making and life skills, accessing other agencies, repairs, neighbour disputes, home security, social contacts, gaining employment, education or training.

  • Family Support:

Shelter Scotland operates three Family Support projects, in Edinburgh, Glasgow and South Lanarkshire. They assist homeless families in temporary accommodation and after rehousing. Support is provided by support workers, Child Support Workers and volunteers. Support includes negotiating with the homelessness section, help with furnishing and decorating accommodation, emotional support to help families regain self-confidence and identify steps to maintain the new tenancy. It also includes help with budgeting skills and finding employment. Support is not time-limited and can last several months. Child Support Workers help with school liaison, liaison with nurseries or day care, lending toys, providing materials, counselling and helping children get to know the community.

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Page updated: Monday, June 5, 2006