The usual length of stay is 18 months to 2 years and when ready we help you find suitable accommodation to move on to, which may be your own room in a shared house or your own flat.

Our experienced staff will give you support tailored to your needs including:

• Support and motivation to make positive changes in your life
• Getting into daytime activities, training, education and employment
• Setting up home and settling in
• Help with family relationships and making friends
• Support to develop, self-understanding, to enable recovery from issues experienced, and encouragement to develop your own personal identity
• Life skills and becoming more independent
• Daily living skills such as cooking, laundry
• Coping skills and strategies
• Staying safe
• Advice and support regarding physical and mental health, diet, substance misuse, contraception, sexual health, domestic and other forms of abuse
• Budgeting and money management
• Advice and support to claim welfare benefits
• Understanding tenancy agreements and obligations, and keeping your tenancy
• Support with moving on to suitable accommodation

Our team of support workers are on site 7 days a week. We work together with you to form a plan to help you overcome any issues you have experienced and to get your life on track so you can achieve your aspirations. Then we support you to make sure you get everything you can out of living at Railway House and are well set up for your move to independent living.

You need to require and be happy to accept support to tackle issues you have experienced and help get your life back on track.

You need to be aged between 16 to 25 years, and be homeless or at risk of homelessness.

You are welcome to visit us to find out more. You can apply for a place yourself and we can send you an application form. You can also be referred by an agency you already have contact with, such as your social worker, young people’s worker, youth worker, Cambridge City Council or South Cambs District Council. If you have no-one to help you, please contact us and we will assist you to find support and take you through the application process.

Once we receive your application form, we will have a look at it and whether Railway House might be the right place for you. When we have a room available we will ask you to meet with us so you can talk about what you want. An assessment of your support requirements will need to be carried out by two members of our staff who will meet with you and your referrer.

All applications and assessments are discussed at the Railway House Allocations Panel meeting and the panel will decide if you can be offered a place. The Service Manager will let you know the decision and this will be confirmed in writing. If you are offered a place you may be able to move in straight away if there is a vacant place, or if there are no vacancies at the time we may add your name to the waiting list. If you are not offered a place, we will tell you why and wherever possible suggest alternatives for you to try.

Yes, you have the right to appeal. You or your referrer must write to the Service Manager within 14 days of receiving the rejection letter giving reasons why you think the decision was wrong. If the Service Manager thinks your application should be reconsidered, then your application will be looked at again at the next Allocation Panel meeting. If the Service Manager does not think your reasons for appealing are justified, your appeal will be passed to the Community Support Manager at CHS who will arrange an appeal hearing. You have the right to have someone with you at the appeal hearing.

You will need to pay the rent and any service charges and may be eligible for Housing Benefit towards these costs. In many cases tenants only have to pay their personal service charge for hot water, heat and light as this is not eligible for Housing Benefit. You do not have to pay for the support.

Our staff are on site 7 days per week, with one member of the team sleeping in overnight.

We house a variety of males and females between 18-25 years old.