Background to Nomad Homeless Advice & Support Unit

NOMAD Housing Advice and Support Unit is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee and is funded by grants from national and local bodies, generated income and by donations raised through general fundraising efforts.

Nomad’s mission statement is: -

To offer advice, support and practical help to homeless or inadequately housed people and to those threatened with homelessness.

The philosophy on which this statement is based is that it is a basic human right to have access to a decent, safe, affordable and appropriate home.

To enable us to achieve and put these objectives into practice, Nomad works closely with other agencies both at a strategic and operational level in an attempt to provide a coordinated and seamless service to homeless people in Sheffield.

Initially set up in 1989, Nomad was run entirely by volunteers, but in the early 90’s Nomad was successful in applications to charitable trusts and central and local government for funding and was able to develop its services.

Governance of NOMAD

The Nomad Management Committee governs the organisation and currently has 8 members. The Chief Executive has managerial/strategic responsibility for the organisations day-to-day activities. A Senior Management Team (SMT) made up of Head of Resources, Head of Services and the Chief Executive has the primary role to steer Nomad’s strategic and organisational development. The newly structured Resources Team manages the organisations financial controls/procedures and personnel matters.

Background

Nomad delivers services in Sheffield which includes the provision of area based tenancy support services (for those at risk of homelessness), resettlement into the private rented sector (for those who are non priority homeless) and ‘move on’ support for vulnerable people including training and volunteering. Nomad’s most significant contract has been the provision of four front line tenancy support services to vulnerable people at risk of homelessness. These services have been funded by the Government’s Supporting People (SP) funding. Nomad has 10 years of experience delivering quality tenancy support services and has achieved Level B’s in the SP Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) and has an excellent track record in service user involvement.

Nomad has like many other voluntary sector organisations, had to come to terms with the impact of the recession, decommissioning/ending of public sector contracts and reduced charity giving. Additionally, at the end of 2009, Sheffield SP changed its priorities and decided to decommission most of its ‘floating support services’. Consequently three of Nomad’s four tenancy support services are being decommissioned (not due to performance contract issues). The Sheffield SP have indicated that they will commission new services, but due to the government’s central spending review, it is currently unclear when and how new services will be commissioned.

Restructure of the organisation.

Towards the end of 2009, the Management Committee and Senior Management Team following consultation with staff decided to restructure the organisation to take account of the information we had about decommissioning of services and other external factors which we believed could have a detrimental affect on the organisation. We have strived to maintain staffing status quo across the organisation, streamlining wherever possible.

In developing this structure over a phased period, the Management Committee have considered the range of services that have to be delivered, available resources, the type of management and immediate support roles required to ensure contract and other compliances. The new structure will accommodate room for growth as well as for further contraction, if required.

Phasing in the new structure

a) First phase – restructure of the Senior Management Team, Finance and Adminteams in first quarter of 2010.

b) Second Phase – relocation to Burngreave Road from West Street by July 2010.

c) Third Phase – restructure of Tenancy Support Services following decommissioning of services when re-procurement of the Burngreave contract is confirmed. Currently taking place

NOMAD Projects in 2011

Current NOMAD projects in 2011are divided into three distinct areas of work:

Housing & Support Services Department (new name from 1st July 2011) –funded by Sheffield Supporting People

  • A generic housing and support scheme based in the Burngreave area of the city. Funded by SP and agreed for 12 months to April 2012 with the option of a further 12 months funding.
  • Three other generic support schemes will be decommissioned by September 2011. Southey & Owlerton,FirthPark areas of Sheffield and the Smartmove scheme which supports tenants in the private rented accommodation.

Training & Support Department

  • Moving Forwards Project – provides training and volunteer placement for ‘hard to reach’ vulnerable people. The trainees attend a 12 week (Open College Network) accredited training course and 10 week placement in other voluntary agencies in Sheffield. Currently funded for 4 years by the Big Lottery.
  • Nomad Plus -provides support to young people aged 18 to 25 who have or will soon have their own home. We provide a range of activities, one to one sessions and workshops, all aimed at giving young people the advice and support they need to help them manage their own accommodation and make positive plans for the future.
  • SmartRenting – this is a new scheme funded by CRISIS and aims to work with those identified as homeless /at risk of homelessness but not in priority need. Aimed at young people aged 18 to 25 the scheme will resettle vulnerable people in the private rented sector with a package of resettlement support.

Transition Fund – In recent weeks, Nomad has received notification that its bid to the Transition Fund was successful. Funded by the government, this fund offers support to agencies/charities that have lost funding through the ending of public sector contracts and allows them the opportunity to adapt to a different funding environment when they are at risk from significant reductions in public sector funding. The funding will allow Nomad the opportunity to focus on the changes we will need to make to ensure sustainability over the short to medium term.

Hilda Francis

Chief Executive

June 2011