In the past few years, we have expanded our organisation and added the Homes for Ukraine Sustainment Service, based in Polegate. This team’s core goal is homeless prevention as they work to support Ukrainian refugees being hosted across Sussex, as well as the hosts themselves. Oksana is one of the many Ukrainian women we have supported who have had to move to the UK due to war. This is her story. Oksana is a 45-year-old woman who arrived in the UK with her teenage daughter. They were placed with a host in Sussex and lived there for a year. However, … Read more

Having someone you can rely on to help you through difficult situations is essential to a stable environment. This is what we provide in our supported housing service in Mid Sussex. Our clients each have a dedicated support worker who helps them gain independent living skills and improve their overall wellbeing. Such stability and frequent one on one support can effect great change in our clients. This was the case for Josie who came to Mid Sussex Supported Housing following a long-standing history of severe mental health issues. This is Josie’s story. Josie is a young woman with autism who … Read more

There can be many factors that build up to cause someone to be insecurely housed. For Jacqui, the loss of her job and the breakdown of her marriage led her to become a member of the ‘hidden homeless’ population, as she was sofa surfing. This is when she sought the help of the Accommodation for Work project at BHT Sussex. Jacqui first came to the project following her separation from her ex-husband. He retained the family home to look after their children as he was not working. After moving out, Jacqui stayed on her mother’s sofa and worked part time. … Read more

Living day to day Last year, I was living a hectic life in Brighton and Eastbourne – to escape that I turned up on my mum’s doorstep, and I wasn’t looking well because I’d been on drugs for a long time. After 6 months Khan’s relationship with his mum and his recovery broke down. He had to leave his mum’s house and he returned to Brighton, where he had nowhere to live. He ended up sleeping rough. Khan was initially placed in emergency temporary accommodation, through the local Street Outreach Service, but he needed more supportive and longer-term housing, and … Read more

Shore House provides accommodation and 24-hour intensive support to people with a range of mental health diagnoses, and those experiencing the effects of complex trauma. To help improve the mental and physical wellbeing of our clients, we offer personalised programmes of support which include activities for clients to engage in. One client, Dylan, found that engaging in the activities offered aided their recovery and helped them open up to staff and their community. This is their story. Prior to arriving at Shore House, Dylan had experienced multiple hospitalisations and difficulties with the law. They were also estranged from their family … Read more

The Court Duty Scheme is a little known but incredible service which provides last-minute emergency advice for people who are facing eviction. When repossession cases are being heard in Brighton, Lewes or Hastings Courts, our specialist Housing Advisers can step in to protect people and ensure they know their rights. These clients have usually never sought advice or representation before meeting our advisers that morning. Often alternatives to eviction can be worked out, debt payments can be renegotiated, and people can stay in their homes. This was the case with Sarah, whose story is below.  Sarah is a housing association … Read more

Mia, a 75-year-old Spanish woman, was living in sheltered accommodation and had been facing significant financial difficulties for approximately five years due to an ongoing issue with her National Insurance (NI) number. This issue caused her benefits to be repeatedly stopped and reinstated, leading to substantial gaps in income. Without consistent benefits, Mia fell behind on her rent, accruing significant arrears, and was at risk of homelessness. This is her story. The Initial Challenge The root cause of the problem was an error made when Mia first registered for benefits: she was assigned the NI number of another individual with … Read more

BHT Sussex is part of an alliance of organisations in West Sussex who work together to empower people to improve their mental health and wellbeing called Pathfinder. Pathfinder prides itself on its volunteer Peer Mentors – people who use their lived experiences of mental health challenges to create a supportive environment where their clients can discuss their needs, as well as work towards achieving their goals and aspirations. Clarrissa used to attend Peer Mentor groups as a client, soon becoming a Peer Mentor herself. This is her story: “When I first came to Crawley, I was in a really bad … Read more

Many clients who seek help from First Base, our day centre for people who are sleeping rough, have multiple and complex needs. When helping a person move away from rough sleeping and into more secure accommodation, the case workers at First Base consider all the physical and mental health needs a client may have. This approach helped Jim get off the streets. Read his story below. “Before I came to First Base, I had lost my supported accommodation and was rough sleeping on the streets. On my first visit to First Base, one of their case workers asked me if … Read more

At BHT Sussex, the approach we take to help our clients is a collaborative one, ensuring they have agency in their own lives. This empowers them to change their lives and gain independent skills for living. The story of one of our Shore House clients, Harry, highlights this approach, which allowed him to recover from an intentional overdose, reconnect with his family and carry out lasting change to his lifestyle. This is his story. Following an intentional overdose of over-the-counter medication that could have proved fatal, which resulted in a hospital admission, Harry was referred to Shore House – one … Read more

When someone experiences so many difficulties in life, it can be hard to figure out where to even start to address their situation. At Route One, our team are highly knowledgeable and skilled in helping people who have mental health and/or complex needs. Erica is a previous resident of Route One who was helped by the team to take control of her life and address the difficulties she was facing. This is her story.

Pathfinder West Sussex is an alliance of organisations working together to empower people to improve their mental health and wellbeing. BHT Sussex is part of this alliance. Pathfinder prides itself on its volunteer Peer Mentors, who use their lived experiences of mental health challenges to create a supportive environment where their clients can discuss their needs, as well as work towards achieving their goals and aspirations. Harsha first came to Pathfinder in 2014. This is her story. “In 2011, I was at my lowest in my life. I was alone, lonely and felt isolated from everyone and everything around me. … Read more