Today is Starts at Home Day.
Starts at Home Day is an awareness raising initiative, led by the National Housing Federation (NHF) which celebrates the positive impact of supported housing on our communities across the country and shines a light on the vital work of the sector.
To mark Starts at Home Day this year, we invited Sarah Coombes, West Bromwich MP, to visit Chapter House in her constituency.
Chapter House is a scheme, managed by us, that supports entrenched rough sleepers, prison leavers and homeless individuals with mental health conditions. All those living at Chapter House work closely with an allocated Support Worker to address any needs and help empower them to meet their goals such as finding employment.
Reflecting on her visit Sarah Coombes MP said: "Supported housing schemes like Chapter House in West Bromwich are vital. I have seen first-hand the incredible work they do to provide safe, self-contained accommodation and person-centred support, helping vulnerable residents with complex needs to turn their lives around. The support offered is truly life changing."
Our scheme, Chapter House, consists of 20 single self-contained flats with staff on hand to support clients around the clock, seven days a week.
Christopher who currently resides at Chapter House after serving a custodial sentence said: “When a room became available at Chapter House, I jumped at the chance. More than a year down the line, it still feels amazing to have my own front door and a one-bedroom flat to myself. I don't have the stress of bills or anything like that yet, so I can just focus on my recovery.
“If it wasn’t for Chapter House and all the support workers; I wouldn't have got on half as well as I have.”
All the apartments at Chapter House come part furnished with a bed, a sofa and some white goods. New arrivals at the scheme are presented with a welcome pack which includes refreshments and bedding.
Tina Watson, our Scheme Manager at Chapter House: “I was proud to show Sarah Coombes MP around the facilities at Chapter House and introduce her to the work we do.
“From supporting people to achieve new skills and patterns of behaviour, to providing help with financial, mental and physical wellbeing – our approach is all about helping people with vulnerable housing circumstances turn their lives around with tailored, person-centred support.
“Starts at Home Day is a great opportunity to shine a light on the work of supported accommodation schemes like Chapter House.”
To coincide with Starts at Home Day 2025, the NHF are calling on decision makers to ‘save supported housing’ which faces an uncertain future after years of funding cuts. Research, produced by the NHF, shows that without supported housing, NHS hospital beds would face 110,000 more days of delayed discharge, and 41,000 more people would face homelessness.