Supported Lodgings Scheme

By becoming a Supported Lodgings host, you will be a young person's 'stepping stone' into independent living.

What is a Supported Lodgings host?

Supported Lodgings hosts offer a young person a bedroom and use of the facilities in their home, whilst supporting them to develop their own independent living skills and prepare them for adulthood. This could be cooking, laundry, DIY, life admin including application forms and banking. We ask that Supported Lodging hosts have at least 7 to 10 hours a week to dedicate to this, along with offering emotional support and encouragement to help a young person meet their full potential.

Who can be a Supported Lodgings host?  

Our hosts come from a wide variety of backgrounds, ethnic groups, faiths and there is no upper age limit. They are people whose own children have left home or have recently retired and people who work full time, single carers and carers with families of their own. If you have a spare bedroom and the commitment and time to help a young person, we welcome your application.

Who are the young people?

Usually, the young people are leaving foster care, connected (or kinship) care with a family member or residential care. Sometimes this could be a young person from overseas who is claiming asylum.

The young people come from a range of different backgrounds and therefore have varying practical and emotional support needs. Many needing placements are in full-time education or work and will be occupied during the day, whilst some may need a higher level of support to transition into living independently.

What support do Supported Lodgings hosts receive?  

Our approved Supported Lodgings host work in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Accommodation and Placement team and are paid a weekly allowance to contribute towards rent or mortgage payments, food and utilities. The young person will be in receipt of their own money and are expected to pay for any personal expenses such as clothes, transport and toiletries.  

Currently, the minimum Supported Lodgings host payment is £271.40 per week.

Host's also receive support from an allocated worker, who will make a home visit every 6 weeks, but are always at the other end of the phone for support and advice if you need them.

How do I become a Supported Lodgings host?

Becoming an approved Supported Lodgings host usually takes around 4 to 8 months in total. Although it may seem daunting, we are here to support you every step of the way.

As this is a service for vulnerable young people, Supported Lodgings hosts need to be appropriately assessed for the role. This will mean sharing personal and sensitive information about yourself and others in the household, so that we can conduct disclosure checks and gather personal and employer references.

There will also be around 8 to 10 home visits with a social worker as part of the assessment. This is so we can find out more about you, including your support networks, any pets in the household, any qualifications and training you may have and hear about your life experiences.   

All this information will be put into a report that is taken to a Panel for consideration and if approved, the matching process with a young person will begin.

How to apply?

If you think you could offer a young person a safe and secure home for them to grow and thrive and support them into independence, we welcome your application. Contact the team by telephone on 01642 528598.

Events and information sessions

We hold a range of virtual and in-person information events throughout the year to help you learn more about Supported Lodgings and meet our existing hosts.

Attending an information session is the first step in what could be a very exciting and rewarding decision. We hope you can join us on one of the following dates to find out more about becoming a host:

• Tuesday 10 September 2024 - online information session from 7pm to 8pm

Our online information sessions are delivered via Teams. Once you have registered, you will be sent some simple instructions of how to join the call on a smartphone, laptop or tablet.

Register interest for a fostering or supported lodgings information session.

Supported Lodgings case study

Wayne and Hazel are Supported Lodgings hosts from Stockton-on-Tees. In this video, they speak about why they decided to become hosts, what the best part of it is, the young people they have been matched with and the skills that they help to teach.

Watch a short Supported Lodgings case study video.