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3 minute read
St Albans building brought back into use to support local families
Matt Roberts, PR and media advisor
A former complex care service in St Albans has been reopened to provide residential support to local parents and young children.
The new parent and baby service at Nicholas House provides housing for at-risk single parents and young children locally, while providing support around their social care needs.
Housing association Home Group is running the new service, which the local housing team will refer families to directly.
The service was established to address the number of families locally living in hotel or temporary accommodation.
Nicholas House was refurbished to consist of one-bedroom flats with open plan living and kitchen areas. These flats will provide stability for families living there, as they transition into independent accommodation.
The service has full-time support workers helping each family navigate their individual needs, and Home Group is also working closely with local housing teams to help identify appropriate long-term housing options for these families when they are ready to take the step back into independent living.
Nicholas House had previously been used to provide complex care support for those with learning disabilities but closed in 2023.
Naomi Heritage, Operations Manager at Home Group said: “We know how important stability is for our customers as they get back on their feet, and even more so when someone is caring for young children.
“Being able to bring Nicholas House back into use with a service to support local families will make a difference in our community and is the result of great collaboration with housing teams and partners to understand what was needed.
“We look forward to helping these customers access the support they need and help them to learn and build skills to enable them to move confidently into independent accommodation.”