Congratulations to our Housing Heroes award winning ‘Team of the year’

News

25 June 2024

Our Young People’s service were really proud to have been recognised at the Housing Hero awards held in Manchester on 24 June. These awards recognise those passionate and inspirational teams, leaders and staff members who go the extra mile.

Origin’s dedicated team has demonstrated exceptional commitment in providing essential support and accommodation for 58 young people in Camden, Central London. We provide housing and support at Stage 3 of the pathway, which is the move through stage for young people aged 18-25. Young people’s independent living skills are assessed and when ready, they are nominated for social housing where they can start bidding on their ‘forever home’.

The team's infectious energy creates a supportive environment which we’re told is like a family. This is crucial to our success, as our young people and care leavers lack the family support and guidance that others their age have.

Our team tackles challenging and complex safeguarding cases. We supported a resident who had exhausted all her options and was on the verge of being evicted. We advocated and supported her and in less than a year has transformed her life completely. She says “Origin is the first place that feels like home, and I have made lifelong friends here”.

“Zoe saved my life! When I couldn’t talk to anyone, I could talk to her”. This resident was involved in significant and complex safeguarding incidents in which their life was at risk. Our intervention prevented an unthinkable outcome.

“The staff are great and helpful, they kept me out of trouble. I have been supported with Housing Benefit which was a big help. Staff are quick to help me understand stuff; they have made a difference to my situation.” We go above and beyond to invest in our residents’ growth and development and have seen lives change because we don’t give up on anyone.

We have a great partnership with Camden and work together to achieve a common goal. Keri Deasy (Strategy and Commissioning Manager): "Origin go over and above in working with young people, they are prepared to take a chance on the hard to place young people and have achieved positive outcomes time and time again. Origin have done great work in supporting people with autism and complex mental health needs, they have a creative way of working with those who wouldn't normally be referred to the service however their approach, commitment and great partnership enables us to make referrals with additional needs that we wouldn't normally make.”

The average length of stay is approximately 18 months to two years. In this time residents are allocated a keyworker to support them with skills such as budgeting, tenancy management, life skills , accessing employment or training and other areas identified in their individual support plan. Over the past year, 16 people successfully transitioned into their own housing within Camden, marking significant progress in their journey towards independent living.

We see our residents taking control of their futures: 32 attend college, three attend university, 11 are employed and three are in training / internship or apprenticeship.

Their dedication, partnership working, innovative and personalised approach has led to positive outcomes on the lives of young people. We were proud to enter them for Team of the Year, as they continue to make a real difference in the communities we serve.

The judges commented ""We chose Origin as team of the year as this entry really moved us. Working particularly with care leavers into sustainable housing is a fantastic service that will fundamentally change the outcome of a young person's life. All too often care leavers are faced with terrible life outcomes as they disappear through the cracks. We feel like this service would be a valuable one for others to adopt and hopefully increase the impact elsewhere. Well done for choosing to work with this group of vulnerable people, providing safe housing as a foundation for their future lives!"