Tenancy Advice Support Service

(TASS)

Information Pack for Young People

1

October 2009 – To be reviewed October 2010

WELCOME TO THE TENANCY ADVICE SUPPORT SERVICE

You will have received this pack because you have been accepted for receivingfloating Support from this service.

All the information you need should be in this booklet but if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

TENANCY ADVICE SUPPORT SERVICE

109 Eaton Road

Liverpool

L12 1LU

Tel: 228 4455

Fax: 228 8788

E-mail:

Staff Team

Manager Steven Corcoran

Support workers Margi Ballard

Chris Dasher

Chris Holding

Paul McDonald

Administrator Sue Addy

Visit our website:

And let us know what you think!

BARNARDO’S BASIS AND VALUES

Our Basis

  • Barnardo’s derives its inspiration and values from the Christian faith. Today we work in a multi-cultural society but we are proud of the Christian values and beliefs upon which we were founded.
  • These values, enriched and shared by many people of other faiths and beliefs, provide the basis of our work with children and young people, their families and communities.

Our Values

  • Respecting the unique worth of every person

We believe that every person is different but equal and that everyone’s unique talent should be recognised and encouraged

  • Encouraging people to fulfil their potential

We all need encouragement at some time in life. Barnardo’s
aims to create opportunities for people to make the most of
their abilities

  • Working with hope

Our hope for a better future for all children is the source of much of our inspiration

  • Exercising responsible stewardship

The commitment of all our staff and volunteers to making the best use of all our resources enables us to help children, young people and their families to overcome severe disadvantages

FLOATING SUPPORT

What is floating support?

We are not restricted to working from an office; floating support offers practical and emotional help to young people who live in their own accommodation and sometimes when they have no accommodation of their own. The programme is flexible and lasts for up to 1 year.

Who do we help?

16 – 21 year old males and females; who need approximately 2 or more support contacts each week. You will have a dedicated support worker who will work with you in identifying the support you need. Support workers work flexible hours so can support you when you need it,this is by arrangement outside of office hours. Normal office hours are 9-5 and the service is available every Wednesday between 5-8pm.

How do we help?

We offer assistance with the following:

  • Claiming benefits and grants
  • Independent living skills i.e. budgeting, shopping, cooking
  • Connecting to utility services i.e. gas, electricity, water, TV licence
  • Obtaining furniture
  • Information about other relevant services
  • Emotional and practical support
  • You’re Rights and responsibilities as a tenant

If you already have a place of your own but are not coping you could apply for a place on the scheme.

What we can’t do

We can’t offer personal care i.e. help with washing/dressing. We don’t offer 24 hour support.Please note under no circumstances are members of the TASS team or the service its self able to hold a spare key to your property. Your security and the security of your property is very important and if you feel you need to leave spare key with another person, you should consider a person who you can trust, this could be a family member, neighbour or close friend or speak to your housing provider about any arrangements that they may be able to help you with. Please feel free to discuss this matter with your support worker.

Your support worker

Every young person supported through TASS has an individual named support worker. Your support worker is the key person in providing you with support and therefore you are likely to develop a close and trusting relationship.

It is important to understand that your support worker is a professional worker, working on behalf of Barnardo’s, they are not intended to be your friend although they will be friendly with you and get to know you quite well and you may share some personal thought and feelings with them. Your support worker may not always agree with what you say or do and they may challenge you about certain things but this should always be done in a respectful way.

Support workers are not allowed to give you any of their own money or provide you with or accept from you, cigarettes, alcohol or any other drugs and should not smoke in your presence. Support worker would not normally attend social functions with you such as parties, christenings etc unless it is part of the support you require. Support workers should only be contacted and in contact with you during normal hours which the service operates; this is currently Monday- Friday 9am-5pm and 5pm-8pm on a Wednesday (office contact) unless otherwise agreed and confirmed with the service manager.

If you your support worker ever makes you feel unsafe, or uncomfortable you should report this to the service manager immediately who will explain what will happen next.

Ending your support

Your involvement with TASS is voluntary and you can end your support at anytime. TASS has a non-engagement procedure which means if you stop contact with us and don’t let us know; we will try and make contact with you by letter, phone and home visits. If we cannot contact you after a number of attempts we will have to formally end your support and any further attempts to contact you.

If your situation changes and it is no longer possible for us to support you safely, we will discuss this with you and look for ways that this can be resolved. If the situation cannot be resolved we will have to consider ending your support.

Support Plan

Following on from your assessment we will now work together on a support plan and a risk assessment for your needs. This will be reviewed every3 months or at any other time requested by you or your project worker.

You have the right to appeal against decisions made from assessments and reviews. You can contact Steven Corcoran (Service Manager) at:

TASS

109 Eaton Road

LiverpoolL12 1LU Tel: 228 4455 Fax: 228 8788

What happens next…….

Steve would contact you to arrange a meeting atEaton Road, you have the choice to be accompanied by a friend, relative, other professional or advocate.

If you are dissatisfied with this response then you can ask for it to be investigated further. This will normally be done by someone who is independent of the project. The timescale of this will depend on the nature and complexity of the complaint but you will be informed of the likely timescale.

Health and Safety

If you have any problems with health and safety within your home, e.g. a broken window or faulty wiring, your landlord must be informed. We will help you with this process if necessary.

Consulting and Involving Young People

TASS believes that only you can communicate what you like and dislike – what works for you and doesn’t. We aim to involve you within meaningful decision making; at one level this will mean involving you with any decisions made regarding you. At another level this can also mean that you participate within areas of the service that we are developing if this is what you want to do. We also value your views and opinions on the areas you feel we could do better with.

We will explain how your involvement, views and opinions will be used and how much power and influence you can have within decision making. We will also provide you with prompt and honest feedback when expressing your views on the service or when you have participated in an activity.We aim to make sure all young people who are supported on the scheme are able to participate and express their views. You can be involved in this process as much or as little as you want.

MOVING IN CHECK LIST

Things to be done when a tenancy agreement has been signed

Change of address to the following:-

  • Benefits Agency ☐
  • Job Centre ☐
  • Bank ☐
  • Doctors/Dentist ☐
  • Connexions ☐

Read Meters and register with the Utilities.

Date & Reading………………………………………………… From Gas meter

Date & Reading………………………………………….……… From Electric meter

Transco telephone number to find out who supplies Gas

0870 6081524

N-Pass telephone number to find out who supplies Electric

0870 7510093

To find the cheapest company for the supply of gas and electricity you may want to visit a price comparison web site such as but there also many others; just type price comparison sites UK into your web browser.

Register with United Utilities for water0845 7462200

Register with T.V Licensing 0870 5763763

(Cash easy entry scheme)

Apply for housing and council tax benefit 233 3009

(to book an appointment at a one stop shop) 233 3016

Apply for a community care grant, budgeting or crisis loan

Register on the electoral roll 233 3028

Tenancy Advice Support Service

USEFUL CONTACT NUMBERS

Your landlord:
Your housing officer (if applicable):
Your number for repairs:
Your GP:
Your Dentist:
Other useful contacts:

EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBERS

Emergency Services / 999
Transco (gas leaks) / 0800 111 999
United Utilities – Water Board / 0845 746 1100
Crisis Team (Mental Health) / 0151 706 0624
Samaritans / 0151 708 8888
Police / 0151 709 6010
NHS Direct – Health Advice / 0845 4647
Careline Children’s Services- Concerns for a child / 0151 233 3700
Careline Adult Services – Housing
Options, Domestic Violence / 0151 233 3800
0800 731 6844

OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS

Young Persons Advisory Services –Youth Support & Counselling Service (Liverpool)
/ 0151 707 1025
Addaction – Help & Support for Young People with Drugs & Alcohol
/ 08000 196 197
Who Cares Trust – Voice for Young People in Care
/ 020 7251 3117

TASS CONTACT DETAILS

Support Worker: / Mob: / Office: 228 4455

SAFEGUARDING: PROTECTING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Barnardo’s believes that all children and young people should be free from abuse and discrimination. We are committed to employing staff and volunteers who are safe to work with children and young people and to providing services that safeguard children’s welfare.

Abuse can be described under the following headings:

Neglect - this is the persistent failure to meet a child’s physical and/or psychological needs which is likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health and development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter & clothing, failing to protect a child from danger or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to a child’s basic emotional needs.

Physical - this may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or otherwise causing physical harm to a child against your wishes. Physical harm also may be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes ill health to a child they are looking after.

Sexual Abuse - sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact including penetrative (e.g. rape) or non- penetrative acts. They may involve children looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Emotional Abuse - emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe persistent side effects on the child’s development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued in so far as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. It may also involve causing children frequently to feel frightened, or in danger, or corruption of children.

Financial Abuse – financial abuse is when a child/young person is exploited by peers, adults or those in positions of power. An example of financial abuse could be your money being held/taken by a third party, e.g. partner, friend, worker and used for their own benefit. It could also be if someone is using your name or address to profit themselves e.g. ordering goods from catalogues. Other examples are someone making you ask or beg for money, giving you an “allowance”, making you account for every penny you spend, sabotaging your paid work, withholding money or being secretive about income.

Domestic Abuse- Domestic abuse is any violent or abusive behaviour, whether physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, financial. This could be actual or threatened between persons who are or have been intimate partners, family members, or members of the same household, Abuse can also occur within lesbian and gay relationships.

Everyone who works for us is committed to following our safeguarding policy.

If any of our workers is worried about a child or young person’s welfare, they have a legal duty to respond. We would always endeavour to discuss these worries with parents, carers and children and young people (where appropriate); we believe that appreciating the views of children and young people helps them feel involved and helps them, to make better decisions. If we continue to feel worried, we would have a duty to report our concerns to the local authority children’s services. We would, wherever possible, keep young people, parents and carers informed of this and of any outcome.

We are also able to help if you have any concerns:

  • About a child or young person,
  • If you are a child or young person and you are worried about yourself, or
  • You are concerned about the behaviour of a member of staff

Please feel free to talk to any of our staff when you see them or call on228 4455. You could also call Steven Corcoran, the service manager, if you prefer on 228 4455.

If for any reason you do not want to talk to a staff member then you can contact Liverpool City Council Children’s Social Care (this used to be called social services) on 233 3700 this service is available 24 hours a day 7 days per week.

If you are worried that a child or vulnerable young person is faces a serious risk of immediate harm you should call the police on 999 or your local police station.

If you have been, or think that you have been abused you can talk to you support worker or any other member of staff.

Everyone who works for Barnardo’s has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. Barnardo’s staff and volunteers are not allowed to keep secret any information that is given to them about a young person who is likely to be harmed, or has already been harmed in some way. It makes no difference whether this information comes from you or from anyone else.

There are reasons why people might not talk about worries or concerns about a child or young person. These include:

  • Thinking they might be wrong
  • Not sure about procedures and consequences
  • Thinking there must be another explanation
  • Not feeling hopeful about being able to change anything
  • Worrying that they might make things worse
  • Not wanting to get involved in child protection services

If you have been abused it is our priority to make sure you are safe.

Depending on the circumstances we may need to contact a Child Protection Social Worker and/or the police who will need to talk to you. We will continue to support you whilst the abuse is being investigated.

If you want to discuss anything about these Safeguarding Children Guidelines then contact:

Steven Corcoran

Service Manager

Barnardo’s

TASS

109 Eaton Road

Liverpool L12 1LU

Tel: 228 4455

Fax: 228 8788

CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT

What is confidentiality?

Confidentiality means that any information that we have been given about you is not passed on. It makes no difference whether this information came from yourself, your social worker, or anyone else. Information might be shared between members of the Project team but we don’t give this information to anyone else unless any of the following happen:

1If we are concerned that you may be being harmed or abused (have a look at the advice in the safeguarding and protecting children section in this booklet)

2The information is about a serious crime/illegal activity and we have to inform the police

3You give us permission to pass the information on to someone else.

You will have a formal opportunity to discuss any issues during your review. You can contact your support worker at other times if you have any issues. You can also phone us whenever you want on228 4455.

ACCESS TO YOUR FILE

This section gives information about how you can see your file.

A file will be created on you when you are referred to the Floating Support scheme.

What sort of information is kept in my file?

Your file will contain the following information:

  • Your referral form (completed by your, personal advisor, advice worker, housing officer)
  • Details of the people who are working together to help you, for example your social worker, leaving care worker and any others
  • Copies of any review forms since you have been using the Project’s services
  • Copies of letters to or from you
  • Case notes – for example, dates of letters, contacts and phone calls.

Who has access to this information?

The following people have access to this information: