Southwark Reach is expected to work with around 300 men and women.
Funded by Southwark Supporting People, it will help those in danger of losing their tenancies and reach out to people struggling with alcohol and drug problems, those with poor mental health and ex-offenders.
The scheme is available to anyone living in Southwark and is free. A skilled staff team of 25 will visit people in their homes, assisting with a wide range of needs.
This may include putting people in touch with specialist services, helping them to claim benefits, and developing their self-confidence and life skills by encouraging them to take up training and work.
The project has a freephone number – 0808 168 0708 – that people can phone if they know of somebody struggling to cope.
Traditionally, such services have catered only for local authority tenants, but Southwark Reach will also help people in housing association or private rented accommodation.
According to service manager Paula Bennett, the council is especially keen for the scheme to target those not currently linked into existing support networks. “The whole idea is for us to get out there and find the most vulnerable people who really need the service,” she said.
To achieve this, Southwark Reach will work very closely with local community groups and agencies. It will be advertised in places such as doctors’ surgeries, council offices, community centres and libraries, to try to reach those who would not usually access such a service.
The scheme also hopes to reduce re-offending by working alongside the police and the probation service to support those being released from prison.
Although the basic tenet of the scheme is to reduce tenancy breakdown, “it is much more about getting isolated men and women integrated into the community”, said Paula. “The project will equip people with the life skills to live independently but also help them to deal with difficult situations, such as being targeted by a drug gang.
“It also aims to reduce conflict between neighbours and anti-social behaviour such as noise nuisance.”
For more information on the new scheme visit www.southwarkreach.org.
