HAIL has received funding from GENIO to work in collaboration with the Rehabilitation team of St Brendan’s Hospital, Dublin with the overarching aim of housing in independent apartments 10 current residents of on-site supported mental health hostels and supporting them through the settlement phase. The project is known as Doras.
The key activities of the Doras project will include:
- Finding suitable accommodation
- Moving the designated individuals from hostel accommodation to independent apartments,
- Helping them to manage the apartment and set up budgeting and personal care systems
- Transferring mental health care from residential rehab to care in the community
- Helping tenant to develop and maintain motivation to integrate into community and identify programmes which will facilitate this
Supports provided will be geared towards:
- identifying appropriate accommodation,
- ensuring that the residents are aware of their responsibilities as tenants,
- ensure they are aware of how to access landlord/ housing management and maintenance support,
- arranging access to available supports to furnish unit,
- set up utility accounts connections and rent payment mechanism,
- assist tenants to move into accommodation either directly or on a phased basis,
- assist tenant to manage a budget for rent, utilities, housekeeping, food and clothing, (household budget)
- ensure tenant maintains cleanliness of apartment and personal hygiene,
- link tenant to appropriate community supports –eg CWO, home help, befriending service,
- assist tenant to develop and maintain motivation and effective use of time,
- ensure tenant is supported by community mental health team,
- ensure tenant is complying with medication regime,
- documenting the progress of the tenancy and tenancy sustainment or otherwise including any obstacles and or gaps in service,
A key piece of work will be to create practical cross discipline working mechanisms between the tenant, the immediate housing support worker, the community mental health team, welfare support and housing authority, and to document how this works. It fits well with the recommendations of Vision for Change 2006 in relation to co-operation between housing bodies, mental health teams and individuals capable of independent living. The project will be evaluated by a team working under the supervision of the Institute of Nursing Research, University of Ulster, Jordanstown. We look forward to the outcomes of Doras and to the close working relationship with the rehabilitation team of St Brendan’s
