Outreach Housing Support Services – Adults and Young Persons

Description

Aberdeenshire Council requires the provision of two distinct Outreach Housing Support Services to support Young Persons and Adults. -The Young Persons Service for people aged 16-20, and care leavers up to and including age 26 where a housing support need has been identified by housing options or social work services who retain the statutory duty to support care leavers up to and including age 26. -The Adults Outreach Housing Support Service for people aged 21 and over. The services are required to be person led and outcomes focused, delivering on the themes set out in the Aberdeenshire Council Local Housing Strategy (LHS), which sets out the strategic vision and priorities for the future delivery of housing and housing related services Aberdeenshire, and the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP). The LOIP is a living document and will be updated as the needs of Aberdeenshire change. This service will be reviewed to reflect these changes on an annual basis. The services will also need to further develop in relation to The Housing (Scotland) Bill 2025. This introduces several significant changes that directly impact the support duty of Local authorities, particularly in relation to homelessness prevention and tenant protections. The Council will have additional duties around earlier intervention and intentionality changes. There will also be a new requirement for relevant bodies (e.g. Health Services, Social Work, Housing associations) to share information and coordinate with Local Authorities to prevent homelessness. The services will be expected to collaborate with Aberdeenshire Council statutory partners and others operating within the homelessness sector in Aberdeenshire to deliver our strategic objective to prevent and reduce homelessness. This Services will be required to be registered with Care Inspectorate as a Housing Support Service. Please note that this is not a call for competition. Full details of the requirement will be published as part of the tender documents on PCS-T, subject to Committee approval, in February/March 2026. Any questions should be emailed to Marie Moore at marie.moore@aberdeenshire.gov.uk Lot 1: Young Persons Outreach Housing Support Service Aberdeenshire Council is seeking an outcome focused Young Persons Outreach Housing Support Service to meet the needs of those aged 16 - 21 and for those who are care leavers up to and including age 26 who are homeless or at the risk of homelessness and who may have complex needs. This may include supporting their resettlement from supported accommodation. The service will be required to be assertive, build relationships and to assist people who are not yet willing and motivated to engage in support. Flexibility will be given to the service provider to build relationships with the client to gain trust. We expect the provider to prioritise in-person visits at all stages of the journey whenever possible, using every opportunity to meet and engage directly rather than relying solely on text or telephone communication. The service will need to be assertive in their nature and use every interaction as a chance to build relationships, to assist people who are not yet willing and motivated to engage in support. Flexibility will be given to the service provider to build relationships with the client to gain trust. It is an expectation that all opportunities to work with associated partners to maximise efforts to engage is taken. We expect the provider to prioritise in-person visits at all stages of the journey whenever possible, using every opportunity to meet and engage directly rather than relying solely on text or telephone communication. The service will support 125 people per month and be delivered flexibly across Aberdeenshire including rural areas. Support should be scheduled around the needs of the person and there may be a requirement to operate outwith office hours, however this would be in exceptional circumstances and there is no expectation for a 24-hour service. Young Persons referred will present with varying levels of need. Some may require only minimal support, such as simple signposting, while others may have more complex needs due to challenging circumstances. These circumstances could include substance misuse, offending behaviour or placing themselves at risk of harm, all of which may increase the likelihood of losing their current accommodation. We anticipate that the level of support provided will gradually reduce over time as individuals develop the necessary skills and resilience. All support should be person-centred and tailored to meet the unique needs of everyone. People may also have a range of health needs e.g. mental health, learning disabilities, physical disability etc. For clarity, we would expect the providers to prompt a client to attend a GP, or promote activities or local community groups, and signpost to relevant agencies rather than providing direct medical or therapeutic input. The focus of the service will be to enable independent tenancy sustainment and embed people within the local communities, building resilience to prevent homelessness in the future. This will mean taking a proactive approach to providing support and identifying and assisting with other issues that become apparent during the support or recognising areas to build on with individuals such as gaining employment, looking for volunteering opportunities, picking up on interests and encouraging clients to join local groups. Please note that this is not a call for competition. Full details of the requirement will be published as part of the tender documents on PCS-T, subject to Committee approval, in February/March 2026. Any questions should be emailed to Marie Moore at marie.moore@aberdeenshire.gov.uk. The estimated maximum spend, subject to Committee Approval is GBP1575075 over 5 years. This figure is for an initial 3 term plus two optional 12 month extensions i.e., 3+1+1 Lot 2: Adults Outreach Housing Support Service Aberdeenshire Council is seeking an Outreach Housing Support Service to deliver statutory housing support duty and provide early intervention for people at risk of homelessness who are aged 21 and over. The key aims of the service will be to: - Enable independent tenancy sustainment. - Prevent repeat homelessness. - Offer tailored housing and social support. - Empower individuals to access health, education, and employment. - Promote community integration and resilience. The service will be required to be assertive, build relationships and to assist people who are not yet willing and motivated to engage in support. Flexibility will be given to the service provider to build relationships with the client to gain trust. We expect the provider to prioritise in-person visits at all stages of the journey whenever possible, using every opportunity to meet and engage directly rather than relying solely on text or telephone communication. The service will support 300 people per month and be delivered flexibly across Aberdeenshire including rural areas. Support should be scheduled around the needs of the person and there may be a requirement to operate outwith office hours, however this would be in exceptional circumstances and there is no expectation for a 24-hour service. Adults referred will present with varying levels of need. Some may require only minimal support, such as simple signposting, while others may have more complex needs due to challenging circumstances. These circumstances could include substance misuse, offending behaviour or placing themselves at risk of harm, all of which may increase the likelihood of losing their current accommodation. People may also have a range of health needs e.g. mental health, learning disabilities, physical disability etc. The support provided will be tailored to meet the needs of each person accessing the service and should be able to be delivered via a range of methods including face to face, telephone or across digital platforms depending on the individual needs and preferences of the person. This applies to individual and/or group activities. Please note that this is not a call for competition. Full details of the requirement will be published as part of the tender documents on PCS-T, subject to Committee approval in February/March 2026. Any questions should be emailed to Marie Moore at marie.moore@aberdeenshire.gov.uk. Estimated maximum total spend over 5 years is GBP3386255, subject to Committee Approval. This is based on a three year initial term, plus 2 x twelve month optional extensions, i.e., 3+1+1.