News

Accommodation contract to continue to support vulnerable adults

By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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Nottinghamshire County Council has extended a key contract with a homelessness organisation to keep the north of the county’s most vulnerable adults in supported accommodation.

The authority is renewing its Stepping Stones North agreement.

Stepping Stones North is a service delivered by Framework Housing Association – a charity supporting people experiencing, or at risk of,  homelessness.

It covers vulnerable adults in the Bassetlaw, Ashfield, Mansfield and Newark and Sherwood districts.

The service provides short-term support for adults aged over 18 who have a learning disability, mental health condition, Autistic Spectrum Condition or a physical disability.

People in the service are also either leaving a more institutional setting, stepping down from supported living, are at risk of abuse or self-neglect or who have housing insecurity.

The majority of its 63 tenants are aged between 18 and 35 and an average of 5.5 hours of support is given each week to each person.

Council documents documents say the extension of Framework’s contract will be for the next five years.

For the 2025/26 financial year it will cost around £439,000.

A review of Stepping Stones North says “there is demand” for the service and that waiting lists are in place.

Last September, there was a wait list of five to six months for Stepping Stones’ Victoria Street location in Newark.

Framework confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service today (June 26) that there is now no waiting list for this location at present.

It said there are currently eight people on the waiting list for the service in Ashfield, Mansfield and Bassetlaw, with the longest wait time being three months.

A spokesperson for Framework said: “Short-term waiting lists can positively assist to effectively manage placements within any supported accommodation service.

“They enable staff to conduct thorough assessments and move people into services quickly when a bed space becomes available.

“Waiting lists are reviewed weekly and staff balance a number of considerations in allocating spaces, including the length of time on the list, priority need, the area someone wants to live, and local connection when it comes to move-on.”

The service “prioritises referrals” from the County Council but also receives them from local mental health teams, hospitals, prison, women’s centres, and housing departments along with self-referrals through adult social care.

The charity also says there are “challenges” with moving people on from the service due to the lack of available and affordable homes, leading people to stay on waiting lists.

The spokesperson continued: “Without this service such individuals would likely be without appropriate support or perhaps any accommodation at all.

“This would lead to significant deterioration and negative consequences for many, as well an increased cost to the public purse as a result of increased care and support needs.

“The decision to extend the service is therefore a positive one, ensuring this supported accommodation remains present and available for some of Nottinghamshire’s most vulnerable residents.”

Stepping Stones also have a South service in Nottinghamshire.