Four Sefton-based organisations have joined forces to tackle homelessness in the borough. Under the name Sefton Supported Housing Group (SSHG), the consortium has won a 5-year contract from Sefton Borough Council to deliver supported housing to homeless people. The Group consists of well-established providers of housing-related support services in Merseyside

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The organisations involved are Bosco Society Ltd (the lead organisation), Venus, Excel Housing, and New Start. The service is made up of 39 hostel places and 31 fully supported dispersed tenancies across the Borough. A Sit-Up Service is also available, in three locations, for up to 15 individuals at any one time.

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The Sit-Up Service takes rough sleepers off the streets and provides a safe, warm place to spend the night. Each venue will provide clients with a hot meal, toilet and washing facilities, a laundry for washing clothes, and emergency clothing where necessary. Accessing the Sit-Up Service will be, for many, the first step towards independent living.

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SSHG has a wealth of experience in delivering 24-hour hostel services, as well as dispersed housing with integrated support. Each client will be allocated a designated support worker who will assess their needs in depth and, with them, agree a support plan to meet those needs. The aim is to provide stability and support to help move clients on to independent living.

The SSHG partners have a shared passionate about service delivery in Sefton and have established strategic links with a range of key stakeholders. We will utilise these relationships to shape and develop services so that strategic outcomes relating to homelessness can be achieved and ensure our clients get the most out of the help and support available.

As part of New Start's ethos to continually reinvest in to activities and services which directly relate to our aspirations, Managing Director Neil Baynes has agreed the allocation of significant investment to raise the standard of the housing provision at Leyland Road.