Resettlement workers at Pamela House are involved in providing information about different housing available, helping residents apply, helping them obtain furniture and supporting them through the move and the process of settling in. The resettlement of the residents begins at the moment they arrive at Pamela House and continues to the time when they are settled and at home in their next accommodation, whatever that may be.

The people who live at Pamela House have a range of problems and come from a variety of circumstances, so the types of housing they move into can also be very different. For some it could be a drug or alcohol rehab, for some a mother and baby unit, for others a group home where there are staff to support them twenty-four hours a day, for others their own flat or bedsit, sometimes with support workers on site, sometimes totally independent.

Setting up

For those moving into their own property, there are lots of practical details to be sorted out. For some it’s the first time they’ve had to move into a flat by themselves and they’re not sure how to go about it. For most of our residents at Pamela House, a move into their own property has meant starting from scratch, having to buy furniture, bedding, cooking utensils, crockery and cleaning materials, as well as stocking up on food. Even for those who have had their own place before, moving into a hostel has meant getting rid of furniture, because they haven’t any finances or anywhere to store it. Two things have made a difference to residents in this situation. One is the assistance of our Resource Centre in providing basic furniture. The other is the provision of a Starter Box.

A Starter Box contains essential items that someone would need when moving into their own flat.  The young people we have at Pamela House often go straight into debt as soon as they move into a property because their low income doesn’t give them any leeway for the extra expenditure that’s needed when buying everything for the first time. We also have women who have left home because of domestic violence, or older women in different situations. One woman who arrived at Pamela House had had to flee her home dressed only in her nightdress after violence from her husband. A neighbour provided her with jeans, a jacket and a pair of trainers two sizes too big for her. The emotional and psychological effects of having nothing after being in a comfortable home can be as damaging as the practical factors.

 

Sarah [not her real name] was resettled from Pamela House. She was registered by the City Council as ‘priority homeless’ because she was six months pregnant. After family problems Sarah had been staying with a friend in their bedsit, a situation that was obviously becoming unworkable as the time for baby to arrive grew nearer. The Council placed her at Pamela House until a flat became available. Sarah is a practical and independent person who was able to apply for housing and speak to housing officers herself. The ‘system’ made her life difficult, however. As soon as a flat became available she had to take the tenancy, but Housing Benefit would only cover the rent at Pamela House. This meant that she was immediately going into rent arrears with the flat. It was obviously impossible for her to move straight into a flat with no bed, no cooker, or other furniture, even though a Housing Officer suggested she sleep on the floor! The time when someone accepts a property is usually a time of frantic activity. We provided a Starter Box; the Resource Centre provided furniture; we helped Sarah apply for a grant so that she could buy a cooker and a fridge; and a Christian pregnancy centre provided baby equipment. Sarah is a Christian but hadn’t been going to church when she came to Pamela House. She was grateful for God’s provision for her and decided to look for a church when she arrived at her new home. God provided again: a former employee of Birmingham City Mission who lived in her area offered to take her to a local church.