UK Bill Help

The homeless and tenants on a low income in Bath and North East Somerset can get help from Developing Health and Independence, or (DHI). The charity provides many forms of assistance from the Reach Floating Support Service, but one of the main ones is on assisting with housing needs.

There are a few schemes offered by the charity. One of them is used to help people move into a new home, and loans are used to help pay for deposits as well as rent in advance payments. The money can be used for moving into private rented property; not social housing. The programme is called Private Rented Access Scheme. If a Bath or Somerset resident needs deposit help for social housing, they can contact the local council for advice.

The loans are given to families on a low income that are seeking a new tenancy. DHI will also provide funds to the homeless, provided they have a source of income/wages. Other applications will also be assessed on a one-off basis as well. If a family is threatened with eviction from their private housing, then linkage is given to loan schemes for paying rental arrears as well as other housing schemes.

Private Rented Access Scheme loans will have a reasonable repayment schedule, and this will factor in the length of the tenancy agreement. The money will also have an affordable interest rate, as the aim is to not cause the client to face a financial hardship. The schemes from the DHI Reach Floating Support Service are meant to put the family or individual on the path to housing stability.

Free advice, guidance, and counselling is also all offered from the charities Floating support workers. They will provide information on budgeting, paying down debts, and helping tenants financially maintain their home or flat. Applications can also be provided to help people apply for the government Housing Benefit.

Developing Health and Independence Supported Housing is available in Bath, Frome, as well as Trowbridge. The tenant is given their own room to live in, but they will need to clean it, pay some rent, and meet the other criteria from DHI.

The Supportive Housing is dry and substance free. So tenants can’t drink or use drugs or controlled substances. All of the accommodations will safe for the client to live in. The ongoing support is also available to keep the individual on the path to long term financial and emotional stability.

Practical support is also provided by DHI in partnership with Clean Slate as well as DHI Stonham. The support workers will meet with clients. A holistic assessment is given to the person, and it will help them develop life skills. Some of the workshops as well as topics covered include the following.

-Tenants or mortgage holders threatened with homelessness can get help in maintaining their home.
– Developing Health and Independence provides information on how to get financial help for mortgage and/or rent arrears.
-Support workers address budgeting, provide free debt reduction advice, and help people save money.
-Employment, job training, and other income based assistance is arranged by counsellors.
-Homeless can get support from DHI as well as Julian House, and they arrange food, shelter, and other assistance.

If there is a service that DHI does not provide, then the support worker will link people to specialist agencies in Bath. As the charity has information on everything from welfare schemes to local churches, grant based financial aid, and much more.

There are two offices in the region. Developing Health and Independence (DHI) is based at 15/16 Milsom Street, Bath, BA1 1DE. There is also another centre, and the post of this site is The Hub, High Street, Midsomer Norton BA3 2DP. Ring the head DHI office at 01225 478 730.