Supported Housing, Sussex

Who we are

CRI Ex-Offender Supported Housing and Resettlement Service provides short to medium term accommodation with support to ex-offenders. The aim of the service is to accommodate, support, empower and reintegrate individuals who have demonstrated the motivation to change their offending behaviour. Resettlement of service users into the community, together with the management of any risk, is the main focus of the service.

Supported Housing Projects provide accommodation for high risk offenders. Staff work in close partnership with Sussex Area Probation.

The projects provide a total of 33 single rooms. Service users share the communal facilities of kitchen, bathroom, lounge area and garden. All accommodation is fully furnished. Each house has an office, with staff providing support during office hours.

Through the support of staff, and by linking service users in with appropriate community resources, the service aims to enable service users to:

- Sustain a tenancy - Improve life skills, e.g. communication, budgeting, cooking - Reduce their risk of offending - Address individual issues, e.g. substance misuse, mental health - Find work/training/constructive activity - Increase levels of independence - Move-on to long-term accommodation

The average length of stay for service users is between 6 and 12 months.

Criteria for Access

In order to be referred to CRI, an individual must meet the following criteria: - Age: Over 18 years - Sex: Male - Situation: Under supervision of the Probation Service

Attributes

- Capable of independent living - Willing to live with others - Willing to accept support - Demonstrating motivation to change - Not requiring 24 hour support

How to access the service

Probation currently have 100% referral rights to our service. Potential service users wanting to apply, need to contact their Offender Manager and ask them to make a referral. This is usually done through the local Probation Housing Co-ordinator, who will have up to date referral forms.

The communication needs of service users are catered for where necessary e.g. translators can be provided for non-English speakers. In addition, consideration is given to the physical requirements of service users.