Dublin City Tenancy Sustainment Service (DCTS)

20 Mar 2006

In November 2005, Dublin Simon Community joined forces with the Homeless Agency and Dublin City Council, to operate the Dublin City Tenancy Sustainment service (DCTS).

WHAT IS IT?
Tenancy sustainment focuses on practical ways to sustain tenancies, rather than seeking to solve all client problems. Although Simon are 'hosting' the new service DCTS will be a coordinator and facilitator of services that already exist, informing those in at-risk tenancies about the help that is available and connecting them with the help that they need.

WHO IS IT FOR?
DCTS will accept self-referrals, and referrals from any agency working with people in at-risk tenancies. The service will consider referrals from households including single adults (18+), couples, and families with children, without exclusion. The length of engagement with service users will range from six to nine months.

Assessments will cover a wide range of areas, including: tenancy agreements, form-filling, mental and general health, addictions, self-care, debt and arrears management, training and employment, linking-in to social and support groups, family contacts and leisure.

HOW WILL IT WORK?
By mid-2006, DCTS will have its full complement of 12 professional workers under one manager, embracing all Dublin City Council areas. This team will work to build a case-management quota of 240+ households.

Dublin Simon Volunteers will free Tenancy Sustainment Workers to concentrate on cases where the risks to tenancies are greatest. A key part of volunteer activity will be visiting tenants and combatting the isolation that is so often a key contributory factor to the break-down of tenancies secured by homeless people.

At the request of the Homeless Agency, in its initial intake, DCTS will give priority to referrals of people currently moving from homelessness. The service will quickly move to being available to support households in established tenancies which are at risk. DCTS will also foster relationships with the HSE and Probation
Services to facilitate managed discharges of those who need support in readapting to accommodation on leaving hospital or prison.

DCTS will be accepting referrals from the beginning of March 2006.

CONTACT
DCTS Manager: Sandra Fox, Callaghan House, 13-16 Dame St., Dublin 2.
Project Office Phone: 01-6749225
Managers Office 01-6749228
email: sandrafox@dcts.ie