King Street Homeless Centre Up for Award

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Old Theatre provides flats for people evicted from other housing

The Old Theatre on King Street, which provides accommodation for homeless people, has been shortlisted for the London Housing Foundation's Andy Ludlow Awards.

The centre is managed by homelessness charity Broadway and supported by Hammersmith and Fulham council. It contains 12 studio flats whose residents have been consistently evicted from other supported housing.

Each resident agrees their own house rules with the hostel staff that address the specific reasons for eviction from other supported housing.

Residents start to take responsibility for their behaviour and begin to feel empowered because they are involved in negotiating the rules they abide by. Residents are also given a small budget for soft furnishings so they can invest in their 'home'.

Residents include people with multiple and complex needs, including alcohol and drug misuse, offending, anti-social behaviour and physical and mental health problems that require frequent hospital admissions.

The service was commissioned by H & F council in 2009. Broadway are a pan-London voluntary sector organisation, specialising in working with rough sleepers and other vulnerable homeless people.

The Andy Ludlow awards are open to all projects in London working in the field of homelessness and prizes are awarded to the organisations that demonstrate innovative and creative solutions for tackling homelessness in the capital, as well as recognising good practice.

The awards were established by London Councils in 1998 in memory of Andy Ludlow, former director of housing and social services in the London Borough of Haringey.

The award winner and runners-up will be announced at the awards reception and ceremony at the House of Commons on October 20.

Cllr Joe Carlebach, cabinet member for community care, says: I am delighted that the King Street hostel has been nominated for this award. The service is working with some very challenging individuals and is a key component in the borough's response to rough sleeping and to achieving the Mayor's rough sleeping targets.

" The Council identified the need for the service, obtained the funding to remodel the building, tendered the service and provides significant funding so we are very pleased that it is now getting the recognition that it deserves. However, we are also determined to get to the route of the problem before it leads to homelessness."

October 14, 2011