Our services

We operate 20 supported houses across Swindon, offering shared accommodation with floating support for 86 single men and women.

Each house has up to seven self-contained furnished bedrooms, every resident has keys to their own room and the front door. Residents have full use of a communal fully-fitted kitchen and dining room/lounge, and some houses have a private fenced-in garden for residents to enjoy. Our project workers visit properties regularly throughout the week and support is available at any time through a 24 hour on-call system.

Our houses meet good accommodation standards and are in areas that are accessible to community amenities and facilities that matters to people, with good access to transport, health services and work opportunities. A Threshold home offers stability, safety and security and allows people to put down roots, develop relationships and begin to establish connections within their communities.

To apply for a room in one of our supported houses, please contact Swindon Borough Council ‘s Housing Options team for a referral:

Swindon Borough Council - Housing Options

Tel: 01793 445500

Email: hoptions@swindon.gov.uk

If you do not have access to email or telephone you can visit the Homelessness Prevention Team without an appointment. They based at the council offices on Beckhampton Street, SN1 2JH and are available between 9.00am and 4.00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 12.30pm to 4.00pm on a Wednesday.

We assess all applicants to decide whether a Threshold house is the right home for them. Our housing services are suitable for residents who require medium to low support.

As part of their licence agreement, applicants must commit to working with a project worker on a personalised support plan. They will set targets to overcome challenges and progress towards living independently. Project workers meet regularly with the people they are supporting to review their plans, improve their life skills and help them to access other services to support their health, wellbeing, employment, finances, social activities and more.

Residents can live in a Threshold house for up to two years. Working on a plan towards independent living is a requirement of the licence agreement. When they are ready, we will support residents to achieve a positive move on. They may be nominated for permanent accommodation through the council, take on a private tenancy, move in with a partner or family member, or move to other supported housing to address their remaining needs.

Every Threshold resident is allocated a project worker on the day they move in. Together they create a personal plan mapping their strengths and challenges and identifying positive actions to improve their situation.

Project workers help each resident to set realistic targets as they work towards their goals at their own pace, addressing any areas where a person may be experiencing difficulties. Project workers support residents to improve their life skills and wellbeing with external agencies providing more targeted support.

We always consider people’s individual circumstances, personal preferences and future goals to put the right support in place. We signpost or refer residents to local services which best meet their needs at any given time. To ensure people have a solid foundation to move on to independent living, we provide holistic support encompassing the following:

• Physical health
• Mental/emotional health
• Relationships and social skills
• Self-care and living skills
• Managing money
• Education / training /employment
• Problems with drug and alcohol use
• Offending
• Managing a tenancy
• Motivation and keeping up with responsibilities

Project workers regularly meet residents to review their progress and measure improvement in each area. This enables them to map their journey to the point where they have gained enough stability to take on an independent tenancy and can bid for permanent accommodation.

We aim to empower the people we support to escape the cycle of homelessness and discover their pathway to independence.

Everyone who arrives at Threshold has a unique story. People come to our houses with complex issues and complicated circumstances. Multiple factors contribute to people becoming homeless, and being homeless can further entrench or escalate these problems.

Once safely housed, people are better able to manage or recover from the conditions that caused them to be homeless. A safe haven from the outside world gives people the basic sense of security they need to start addressing other challenges.

Whether a person is trapped by abuse, neglect, poverty or any other disadvantage, we are here to help unpick their issues and work through their challenges together. Our residents receive person-centred, wraparound support to overcome the problems that are holding them back from achieving their potential. Our project workers help people to access the essential things in life that many of us take for granted, from basic needs such as financial support and healthcare, to opportunities in education, employment and social participation.

By breaking down barriers to inclusion, residents can take control of their lives and move forward to independence. Project workers support residents with applying for council housing, registering with Homebid and bidding for properties. When appropriate, they will submit nominations to the council for priority for single tenancy houses, which can have a waiting list of up to two years.

We are currently involved in a project assisting Swindon Borough Council to provide outreach to rough sleepers. Members of our team patrol the town in the early mornings to carry out welfare checks on people who are sleeping rough. We alert Swindon Borough Council with information on anyone who is street homeless so that suitable accommodation can be provided, according to their needs. We provide people with drinks and direct them to where they can get food, shelter, a shower and basic provisions.