The Live Well Kent & Medway Supported Housing referrals are presently closed until further notice.
Please direct all enquiries to: paulaclarke@northkentmind.co.uk
NKM Supported Housing:
North Kent Mind provide a supported housing service for 27 people who have experienced mental health problems and now need some support to live independently. Accommodation is provided in 5 sites in the area: Dartford, Northfleet, Gravesend and Swanley. All our flats are self-contained. Some of the projects also contain a communal room/ garden where the tenants can meet together or where we organise activities too. Please check our website for additional information
We offer short-hold tenancy agreements, which means that tenants living within them are expected to become independent enough to move on to general housing within two years. Everyone is encouraged to move to settings that are more independent when they are able to do.
Our service is a low-level Supported Housing Scheme. We are a non-staff on premises scheme. Our tenants receive low level of support, which means they will have around 2 hours 1-2-1 support from their allocated support worker per week. The support we provide could be in person or remotely.
All flats are fully furnished and equipped when a tenant moves in. Rent payments are normally covered by Housing Benefits if the individual is eligible to claim them. Council tax will be in line with the local authority’s council tax reduction scheme. Tenants pay their own utility bills to encourage independent living.
Service eligibility criteria:
We do not keep waiting lists for the supported housing services, but when vacancies do occur we notify Porchlight (Life Well Kent) and also inform the Community Mental Health Teams and other agencies who refer suitable candidates to us:
- Resident of Kent (2 years / Local Connection Criteria) – in the area where the VOID flat is located (Dartford/ Swanley or Gravesend)
- Be in need of Housing in one of those 3 areas: Dartford, Gravesham or Swanley
- Be over 18 and needing single person accommodation
- Have, or be recovering from, an enduring mental health problem (Mental Health Diagnose Needed)
- Need the type of housing support we provide (low level support/ 1-2 h support per week)
- Need the type of housing we can provide (self-contained flats for single accommodation/ no staff in the premises)
- Be able to use the supported housing service to make positive difference in their life and move on to live independently
- Be able to move on to live independently after 2 years of tenancy (we only offer short hold tenancy agreements -2 years)
- Not be a risk to the health, safety and well-being of other tenants (People in crisis won’t be suitable)
- Referrals MUST be completed by a professional. NO SELF-REFERRALS will be accepted
Referrals need to be sent to Porchlight (CRS- Central Referral System): livewellkentHRS@porchlight.org.uk(*The Live Well Kent & Medway Supported Housing referrals are presently closed until further notice.) Please direct all enquiries to: paulaclarke@northkentmind.co.uk