News Categories: Supported Housing

Successful Planning Permission to tackle homelessness in Bangor

We are working with Gwynedd Council and Adra to redevelop an empty site, 137 Bangor High St, into 12 flats with support to tackle homelessness in Bangor, Gwynedd. Adra are leading on the development, while the building will then be managed in partnership by North Wales Housing and Gwynedd Council.

Planning permission has been granted and work will start early 2021.

We are proud to be working with Gwynedd Council’s Housing and Properties team to develop a building which will then provide accommodation and will be a suitable home to help and contribute towards tackling homelessness in Gwynedd by working with Gwynedd Council and Adra.

Sarah Schofield, Adra’s Customers and Communities Director said:

“We are so glad that this development has had planning permission, I can’t wait to see people moving into their new homes when the development is completed.

“There has been almost 40% increase in homelessness in Gwynedd over the last 5 years, and with Universal Credit cases increasing and people losing jobs as a result of the pandemic as well, there is a need for accommodation and service like this more than ever.

“We are really proud to be working with Gwynedd Council and North Wales Housing and proud that we’re taking steps to solve this matter and to help vulnerable people who is in housing need in Bangor, Gwynedd.”

Councillor Craig ab Iago, Cabinet Member for Housing in Gwynedd Council, said:

“Having a roof over your head is something most of us take for granted. But unfortunately, social circumstances mean that this human right is something that’s out of some local people’s reach. This is unfair and we’re determined to make sure that the people of Gwynedd has access to appropriate housing.

“This project will offer an important first step for people towards independence and a long term home by building independent lives. It’s also good to see that new life will be given to a building that’s been empty for a long period of time, here in Bangor.”

Brett Sadler, Operations Director at North Wales Housing said:

“We welcome the good news that planning permission has been given for this development. We’r proud that we, by working with Gwynedd Council and Adra, will support homelessness in Bangor, and add to the work our Outreach and Resettlement Team already do in the area.

“We also understand that providing a home alone is not enough, we will also be offering direct support by our informative and committed staff, to enable the tenants to successfully live independently.”

All partners are committed to complete this project and we will be working with specialist services and voluntary organizations that work in the Bangor area.

Happy 30th Birthday Monte Bre

North Wales Housing mental health scheme Monte Bre celebrated their 30th birthday this September.

Located in Llandudno, Monte Bre provides supported accommodation for residents recovering from, or have, a long term mental health issue.

The scheme celebrated the milestone by inviting key stakeholders and partners they work with to find out more about the scheme and the work that they do. Over buffet and cake they spoke to residents, Project Workers Judith Lewis and Joe Lambe and Manager Kerry Jones, highlighting some of the great work that they do.

Happy 30th birthday Monte Bre – here’s to many more years to come!!

Homeless service benefits from Waitrose community donation

North Wales Housing’s homeless service received a donation of £339 from Waitrose Menai Bridge’s Community Matters scheme this February.

The Community Matters ‘Green Token Box’ scheme, launched by Waitrose in 2008, enables shoppers at their store to choose a local charity to support. Each shopper receives a token to place in a box of the good cause they would most like to donate to.

The cheque for £339 was presented to Aled Bebb, Resettlement Support Worker within the Outreach and Resettlement Team who work with street homeless in and around Bangor.

Aled explained:

“Thank you to Waitrose customers who choose to support our charity. We rely heavily on donations such as this to be able to help keep the service going so this will make a big difference.”

“The service we offer to homeless provides crucial support to help stay warm and dry, offering food, clothing items and emergency camping provisions such as tents and sleeping bags.”

If you would to make a donation please call in at our St Mary’s Hostel on Love Lane in Bangor, or call 01248 362211 to discuss further.

Services showcase help protect funding for vulnerable people

North Wales Housing’s Supported Housing Team went on the road this September and showcased the services and support they offer to vulnerable residents.

The event was aimed at service providers, agencies, organisations and interested parties who wanted to find out more about what services we can offer and how to refer people to our services.

Lynne Evans, Head of Supported Housing explained:

“North Wales Housing provides a wide range of supported housing accommodation and support services to vulnerable people across North Wales, including homeless people and rough sleepers, young care leavers, people with mental health issues, and people with learning disabilities.” 

“We work closely with other organisations but events such as this offer a good refresher to everyone as to what we do and how we can work closer together. It’s also a great opportunity to put a face to a name!”

Supported Housing service users were also present at the event and attendees took their time to talk to them about their housing journey. Their stories are living proof that with the support of providers such as North Wales Housing they can successfully move on with their lives.

The event also supports a sector-wide ‘Lets Keep Supporting People’ campaign, established to raise awareness of the Supporting People programme, the people who benefit, the preventative nature of the programme and how the funding is spent.

Lynne was delighted to reveal that events such as this and the campaign have resulted in protected funding for another year:

“A number of our Supported Housing schemes are funded by partner local authorities through the Supporting People Programme. We are extremely pleased that the Welsh Government has committed to protecting the Supporting People Programme Grant again for 2017/18 in their recent budget.”

 “The Supporting People Programme supports over 60,000 vulnerable people across Wales every year.  Whilst the next few years will be difficult with pressure on public services across the board, protecting this funding means that our services will have more scope to respond to future challenges.” 

“Events such as this are very important to showcase the positive impact on vulnerable people’s lives and sustaining communities. It also encourages more collaboration which is crucial to keep the services going.”

Residents’ donations keep homeless warm this winter

St Mary’s homeless hostel in Bangor sent out an urgent appeal for donations as supplies ran critically low for their homeless gate service this September.

North Wales Housing’s Older Persons department and residents came to their rescue and pulled together to collect donations.

Eirlys Parry, Head of Older Persons, explained why they decided to help:

“When we read about the shortage in our newsletter we really wanted to help as a department. Charity does begin at home and we really wanted to help our colleagues. The Older Persons tenants are also really good at fundraising for different charities throughout the year so we knew they would do well.”

“Residents across North Wales came together to collect, raiding their own collection as well as friends and families. The end result was amazing, everyone was extremely generous. We collected bagsful of clothes and boxes overflowing with food.”

The Team handed over the mountain of donations to St Mary’s Hostel on Love Lane, Bangor in October.

Rob Parry, Scheme Manager at St Mary’s, was ecstatic the donation:

“We are extremely grateful to the Older Persons department and the residents for their generosity and would like to thank them for their support.”

“The gate service offered at St Mary’s to the street homeless in Bangor rely heavily on donations to keep going. With the cold winter months approaching our stock was worrying low and this donation was much needed.”

Find out more about donations required here. If you would like to donate any tents, sleeping bags, warm clothing or food please drop off any donations at St Mary’s, Love Lane, Bangor or contact 01248 362211 for alternative arrangements.

Sleeping Bags and Tents urgently wanted

St Mary’s hostel in Bangor provide a gate service to homeless people in Bangor. This service provides crucial support to help the homeless stay warm and dry, offering food, clothing items and emergency camping provisions such as tents and sleeping bags.

This service relies on donations to keep going.

We do not have any tents or sleeping bags left at the moment. With cold weather fast approaching this is worrying situation.

If you have any spare sleeping bags or tents please donate them. You can drop them off at St Mary’s Hostel, Love Lane, Bangor or contact 01248 362211 for alternative arrangements.

Help give homeless people of Bangor a Christmas this year

We think everyone deserves a Christmas. That’s why we are launching this Christmas appeal, to make sure that homeless people of Bangor get a Christmas they deserve this year too.

North Wales Housing has two homeless hostels in Bangor, St Mary’s and Pendinas. All year round the hostels rely solely on donations to help keep the service going.

This Christmas we want to do more; we want to offer the homeless people of Bangor a Christmas of their own. We want to be able to offer them a Christmas meal and gifts; things that we take for granted.

How can you help?

To make this happen we would appreciate your help and support by:

• Donating items such as practical gifts, food, warm clothing and blankets

• Donating money so we can purchase these items

• Sharing posts from our Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness.

Where do you donate?

You can drop off your donations at St Mary’s Hostel (Love Lane, Bangor LL57 2TE) or at our Bangor Office (30 Dean Street, Bangor. LL57 1UR). Or contact us on 01248 362211 or [email protected] and we can organise to pick them up. For more information or posters, please do not hesitate to contact us anytime.

Thank you for your support, your generosity would be most gratefully received.

Supported Housing showcase key services to vulnerable residents

The Supported Housing department held a drop in partner event to showcase the services and support they provide to tenants.

North Wales Housing is a growing leader of Supported Housing Services, providing excellent services to service users and funders across North Wales.

Lynne Evans, Head of Supported Housing at North Wales Housing explains:

We provide a wide range of supported housing accommodation and support services to vulnerable people across North Wales, including homeless people and rough sleepers, young care leavers, people with mental health issues, and people with learning disabilities.

This event was a great opportunity to meet with partners and funders, reinforce the services we offer and discuss how our accommodation and services can support their clients.”

A number of key local people came along to support the event organised by NWH Scheme Manager Kerry Jones. Attendees including Colwyn Bay Mayor Cllr Doctor Sibani Roy and Cllr Philip Edwards took the opportunity to visit stands by each area of the department, talking with staff and service users.

Lynne Evans, Head of Supported Housing at North Wales Housing said:

Supported Housing Service users were present at the event and attendees took their time to talk to them about their housing journey.

Two present, Peter and Patrick are brilliant examples of how the process at NWH works as both have successfully moved on to live in their own properties independently thanks to the support offer by NWH. Success stories like this makes our jobs worthwhile.”

A number of NWH’s Supported Housing schemes are funded by the Supporting People Programme by Welsh Government. In Wales there has been an ever increasing pressure on this funding, with year-on-year cuts to and more anticipated. Events such as this that encourage more collaboration is crucial to keep the services going.

Lynne Evans, Head of Supported Housing at North Wales Housing said:

We’re supporters of the ‘Let’s keep on Supporting People’ campaign. The aim of the campaign is to secure continued investment in the Supporting People Programme and ensure that people who are marginalised and at risk continue to be protected.”

Help Bangor homeless as winter chill sets in

St Mary’s homeless hostel in Bangor has launched their annual Winter appeal to support rough sleepers in and around the town as the cold season begins. Find out how you can help.

The hostel provides help and support for local homeless men and women, providing accommodation for up to 13 people. Always full to capacity St Mary’s also supports rough sleepers they are unable to accommodate, providing them key items including sleeping bags, tents, blankets and clothing, which are critical for survival as the cold weather sets in.

Despite quite a haul of tents and sleeping bags from the goods leftover at Wakestock and Festival No. 6 this year the hostel are still short on some essential items.

St Mary’s Scheme Manager Rob Parry said:

“This year we’re especially short on items such as tents, sleeping bags and blankets. We rely on donations such as this to provide people with protection from poor weather. Without these, we would not be able to help those that most need it.”

Rob added:

“None perishable and tinned foods are also extremely welcome at this time of the year. We are grateful for all donations, no matter how big or small and every item helps”

Anyone wishing to make a donation please call in at St Mary’s Hostel on Love Lane in Bangor or any of the North Wales Housing Offices in Bangor or Llandudno Junction. Or call 01248 362211 to discuss further.

Movin on up for Colwyn Bay hostel

Colwyn Bay homeless hostel, Noddfa, is developing its services with the announcement of 10 new move-on units, enabling service users to take the first vital step towards independent living.

The North Wales Housing-managed hostel provides support and accommodation to 12 male and female service users at any one time and is consistently fully occupied. Plans to develop Noddfa specific move on flats will ensure there is suitable accommodation in place for people to move to, whilst still retaining close links with Noddfa and the support it offers.

Plas Llewelyn in Colwyn Bay is currently being re-developed to provide single accommodation units with independent kitchen, living and sleeping areas.

The Noddfa hostel itself has also enjoyed a recent re-vamp both internally and externally, including the garage which has now been transformed for use as a games room, complete with graffiti art walls and pool tale.

Dave Williams, Scheme Manager at Noddfa said:

“This move regarding the new housing facility is fantastic and will enable us to support those we work with throughout their journey. The move-on unit in Plas Llewelyn is expected to be completed in April 2015, following improvement works by the North Wales Housing team, and we already have tenants earmarked for those homes.”

Paul Diggory Chief Executive of North Wales Housing added:

“We have always offered support that goes beyond initial stays at our hostel, however, we recognise the benefits of creating our own move units that will give service users the confidence and security of knowing that there will be a home for them as they make their move out of the hostel environment.”

A number of former Noddfa tenants have recently secured full time employment locally and with ongoing support from both Noddfa and NWH, are enjoying their new jobs and homes.

Paul added:

“To see our former service users make this huge transition is brilliant – with these latest developments, we aim to offer more support to more people and continue to help make a positive change.”