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

Maintaining employment whilst being insecurely housed is difficult and can have a negative impact on someone’s mental wellbeing. Our Accommodation for Work project was set up to help people like Zehra, who came to us whilst in emergency accommodation. Zehra was forced to leave her family home due to her mother’s health issues and difficult dynamics in their relationship. Facing homelessness, she was placed into emergency accommodation before coming to the Accommodation for Work’s temporary shared accommodation. Whilst this was happening, she was still working part-time as a support worker in a mental health hospital. Zehra found the job difficult … Read more

At BHT Sussex we are known for our resilience and ability to persevere, despite significant setbacks. This is demonstrated by our Immigration Legal Service, who helped a young man achieve refugee status after a six-year battle. This is Ishaq’s story. Ishaq grew up in Egypt, where he lived until he was a teenager. Ishaq’s father was arrested and imprisoned because of an association with the Muslim Brotherhood – a banned organisation in Egypt. It did not matter to Egyptian law enforcement whether the association was real or just perceived. The prison he was sent to is infamous for housing political … Read more

As an organisation, one of our core missions is homelessness prevention. One way we do this work is through our Housing Advice and Legal Services. One of our clients, Diane reached out to us after rent arrears had built up over many years, and she was facing homelessness. This is her story. Diane had been a sole tenant of a Housing Association property for twenty-eight years. She was renting a three-bedroom flat and had brought up three sons in the property. Diane initially lived at the property with her partner, but they had separated for a period of time and … 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

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

Struggling to find employment despite incredible effort can have a big impact on someone’s health and wellbeing. This was the case with Scotty, who found it difficult to identify a clear path into work after being failed by multiple services. This, coupled with the difficulty of managing a chronic illness, made Scotty feel hopeless. However, after working with BHT Sussex’s Intern Programme, who supported Scotty and his specific needs, Scotty found a way through. This is his story. Feeling hopeless “My life was pretty bleak for many years, and I did not see much of a future ahead of me. … 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

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

Navigating the benefits system can be incredibly difficult, which is why our staff in the East Sussex Floating Support Service are highly trained and knowledgeable about the system. This allows us to help many people across East Sussex who are struggling to access benefits and ultimately improve their quality of life. One such person is Dinah, who came to us for help accessing more financial support. This is her story. The Initial Challenge Dinah is a homeowner who lives with a variety of health conditions, including osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension, mobility issues, and has a history of falls. Due to having … 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

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.