Housing First - Provincie West-Vlaanderen

alcohol use through the use of service brokerageto arrange the necessary mental health and drugand alcohol services. By contrast, an HFL servicefor young homeless people might concern itselfparticularly with the social and economic exclusionof the young people it is working with, focusing onaccess to education, training and employment aswell as promoting housing stability.The aims of an HFL service can include:❱❱Promoting housing stability.❱❱Reductions and where possible cessation ofproblematic drug and alcohol use (if present).❱❱Reductions in criminal behaviour (if present).❱❱Reduction and where possible an end to severemental illness and mental health problems amongservice users (if present).❱❱Improve physical health by emphasizing wellbeingand ensuring contact with medical serviceswhere necessary.❱❱Reengagement with normal social and communitylife, developing friendships, re-establishing familyties where possible and developing and sustainingsuccessful personal relationships.❱❱Engagement with work related activity, includingproductive activity that is similar to work,education and training as well as securing paidwork where this is possible and practical.How is an HFL service accessed?As the operation, focus and nature of HFL servicesis subject to variation, there is no set mechanismby which referrals are made to HFL services.Some HFL services may accept referrals fromhomelessness services including emergencyshelters; daycentres or soup kitchens and HFLservices may also work in cooperation with mentalhealth and social work services. Some HFL servicesare operated by social housing providers and maybe accessed primarily by new tenants who havebeen homeless and existing tenants who may be atrisk of homelessness. It is possible that individualsmay be able to self refer to some services, butthis will depend on the specific arrangements andwhich groups of homeless people an HFL service isworking with.How is an HFL service delivered?HFL services use a combination of mobile supportworkers and ordinary housing. An HFL servicemoves homeless people into housing immediatelyor as soon as possible, and/or seeks to stabilisethe situation of a potentially homeless person whois at risk of losing their existing home when it hasa homelessness prevention role. As noted, HFLservices are primarily low intensity support servicesthat rely heavily on service brokerage. The mobilesupport workers employed by an HFL service willprovide:❱❱Low intensity support with the domesticmanagement of a home, this might include:〉〉Advice and support in claiming welfare benefits〉〉Advice and support on cooking healthy meals〉〉Advice and support on managing householdbills〉〉Advice and support on managing any existingdebt〉〉Support in securing furniture, kitchenappliances such as cookers and fridges forunfurnished housing (some services mayprovide furnished apartments).❱❱Service brokerage, which can include helpingservice users to access health care, psychiatricservices, drug and alcohol services, social worksupport, legal advice, education, training, debtand money management advice and education,training and employment related services.❱❱Low intensity support with issues such as isolationand boredom, though this will not necessarily beoffered by all HFL services.An HFL service will not directly provide any of thefollowing services, though, as noted, an HFL servicewill seek to arrange access to these services viaservice brokerage, when these forms of supportare required:36