097 - Providing Housing for Homeless People with Robert Mellors

In this episode Robert Mellors explains how his own experience of homelessness inspired him to set up a housing association. He shares the lessons he has learned in setting it up and running a service to provide housing for homeless people. Robert talks about good and bad experiences with landlords, the issues around rent to rent in supported living and shares some great advice for those looking to set up a service.

Robert Mellors has experienced several periods of homelessness himself, and has taken voluntary and paid roles within a range of homelessness services, he became a qualified debt counsellor and caseworker specializing in welfare benefits, employment law, homelessness law, and consumer law, which enabled him to represent clients in various courts and tribunals.. He then set up his own service obtaining a Supporting People contract.

It was during 2010 that Robert decided to start providing housing for the homeless in Sheffield, initially for families, but at the end of 2010 Robert started working as a Specialist Caseworker for Citizens Advice Bureau, within a project helping people with drug and/or alcohol dependency issues. He saw the need for a flexible and supportive housing service for this type of client. In 2011/12 Robert’s housing association, Choice Housing Trust, diversified into the provision of shared supported housing for single homeless people with additional support needs.

The document we discuss can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supported-housing-national-statement-of-expectations/supported-housing-national-statement-of-expectations

Lisa Brown became a property investor after a long nursing career. She initially developed heritage properties and then a chance encounter led her to discover supported living. She realized this was a powerful way to invest in property while creating homes for people with a support need.  

 

Lisa set about discovering why property investors struggle to let their properties to supported living providers and why providers struggle to find property to let. She has been educating people, raising awareness and working on solutions to this problem ever since. Lisa is the host of the Supported Living Property Podcast and YouTube channel and formed The Supported Living Property Facebook Group.  

  

Lisa is founder of The Supported Living Property Network, a place for property investors and supported living providers to connect, build relationships and communicate about property they have available and/or need. Membership includes access to training courses, monthly training events and networking events and access to The Supported Living Property Network Conference.  

 

To find out how you can join The Supported Living Property Network please follow this link: https://www.supportedlivingproperty.uk/the-supported-living-property-network

Lisa has written a free guide for you: 

If you are a property investor download this free guide to help you find providers to lease your property: ⁠ https://www.supportedlivingproperty.uk/how-to-find-supported-living-providers 

  

If you are a provider who is looking for property to lease, then download this free guide to help you find property: https://www.supportedlivingproperty.uk/free-guide-for-providers