When Sam was referred to FLAGSHIP he was in an entrenched habit of sleeping rough and sofa surfing wherever he could. He had a transient lifestyle and had slept rough in several places across Yorkshire whilst also serving time in and out of prison. Sam struggled with living day to day and being able to take advantage of basic things such as having a shower or eating a hot meal. He found himself regularly in and out of hostel and emergency accommodation. Sam’s relationship with his family was poor and he was not in a position to receive or ask for support from them. The combination of these factors had also had an impact on his mental health and Sam suffered with severe depression, anxiety and insomnia. This could often effect his motivation to want to make changes to his situation and at times this left Sam feeling helpless.

Despite his situation Sam had been trying hard to find work and to get back into employment. Sam was engaging with an organisation linked to FLAGSHIP GIPSIL and he was supported to secure a construction placement- however this was in jeopardy due to his homelessness situation. Using Sam’s interest in finding work as way to engage him, FLAGSHIP housing support workers completed a needs assessment to look at what he wanted to achieve and how we could support him with his housing need. Taking Sam’s situation and needs into consideration FLAGSHIP were able to offer Sam supported accommodation in a 6 month AST trainer flat.

Sam has recently moved into this accommodation and has settled well. Sam has an allocated housing support worker who visits him on a weekly basis. Sam will be supported to achieve the things identified in his support plan such as independent living skills, mental health support and benefits advice. Sam will also be supported to access long term stable accommodation where he will be able to continue to thrive and focus on what he wants to achieve in life. When this happens FLAGSHIP will be there to support  him for up to a year in his own tenancy and to ensure he is able to maintain this. Most importantly for Sam was that he was able to maintain his construction placement- the thing that Sam felt was most important to him.