We help single people or childless couples who are on benefits or low incomes in North Somerset - these are the people the local authority does not have a duty towards - to access private rental properties. We provide information and signposting to people with issues regarding housing / tenancy and we also offer ongoing support once they are housed through our scheme. We seek to alleviate the poverty that prevents people from accessing suitable housing thereby allowing them to make progress in life once more.
Many of our clients come to us after relationship break ups that have left them homeless. Job loss can be another cause. Others are leaving supported housing after dealing with mental health issues or overcoming addictions. Many are "sofa surfing" - staying wherever someone with have them. Some are street homeless, although thankfully new services have been developed in recent years by the local authority and other charities to help this group of people. We see a range of ages.
Normally we run two drop in sessions a week in our Weston-super-Mare office for anyone to come to discuss their housing / tenancy related concerns, but this is currently mostly done by phone / email due to pandemic. We can arrange special appointments when required, having taken various appropriate precautions. Our staff currently (temporarily) mostly work from home.
When people contact us we take time to listen carefully to their needs. Sometimes we signpost them to other organisations that can better meet their needs. For some our deposit bond scheme is the answer and we then work to match them up with local private rental landlords who will accept a paper bond certificate rather than cash.
Once they are signed up with us we can help them with applications for Housing Benefit, Discretionary Housing Payments chantge of address etc and we make sure they are getting the appropriate discounts on their Council Tax.
We have supported some of our clients to get their PIP benefits reinstated and we have helped others to get grants to help them with various expenses. Our bond holders know they can always contact us for assistance and advice.
We have two special funds, asides from the bond fund, which can allow us to offer our bondholders some direct help with accessing appliances, paying for energy in winter, help with rent in advance etc.
We monitor our effectiveness using an online casework package that produces statistics. We can also use this data for our funding bids, as we are entirely supported by grants from charitable funds and donations from local churches and individual supporters.
We have a small board of trustees who currently have monthly online meetings with the two staff members. This allows us all to work together closely. We also keep in touch via email in between times.
We still have plenty of enquiries despite the pandemic, but we have also taken the opportunity to update all our policies and procedures along with various forms and other documents.
KeySteps was originally the "Woodspring Deposit Guarantee Board" - later shortened to WDGB. KeySteps is now the working name of WDGB LTD, an incorporated charity.
