An update on Establish - Meet Jodie.

[Establish] is a joint venture between Andrews Property Group and Andrews Charitable Trust (ACT). The objective is to support young people who have been under the threat of homelessness in London, Oxford and Bristol. The project provides good-quality, affordable homes to young people who have been vulnerable to homelessness. The young people that are housed are provided with light touch support by local youth support charities as they navigate their way into the world of work and continue their journey onto becoming confident, thriving, independent adults.

Andrews staff collaborate with ACT to help find and purchase suitable houses, organise renovations and manage the leases/tenants. ACT are encouraged by the fantastic response of staff who volunteer as mentors and offers their assistance in valuable skills such as CV writing and Interview techniques that have helped young people secure employment.

[Establish] currently have 8 properties, housing 24 young people and aims to provide safe and affordable homes for at least 150 young people at any given time.

Meet Jodie*

Jodie, one of the current residents in one of the flats in Bristol, demonstrates how valuable they can be in these situations:

Following six months hospitalisation, Jodie lost her housing and her job and ended up in a high support hostel with very few move on options.  She had worked hard to get back in work, but her benefits reduced and she was struggling with the high hostel rent.

Whilst still recovering from ongoing health issues, she knew she wouldn’t cope well in shared accommodation. Also, when forced to take time off work, her income dropped. The affordable one-bed Establish flats, provided by ACT, has provided a perfect transitional housing solution. Jodie has had two promotions since moving in and recently used the Transitions fund, provided by ACT, to complete a short course which will further help her career.

“Living here has given me stability and independence but there’s still some support when I need it, like managing housing benefit and dealing with bills, that’s stressful. In the future, I want to go to University and become a paramedic.”

Jodie dreams of being a paramedic. With settled, secure accommodation, there’s every prospect now of gaining a university place to achieve her ambitions.

 _{*Names have been changed to protect the residents privacy.}