After managing a project that's helped hundreds of people out of homelessness, Sam Perrett has returned to Northwards to continue breaking ground with a new team.
Sam was seconded to the GM Homes Partnership - a project that's transformed the lives of homeless people across Greater Manchester.
The scheme brought together organisations like ourselves from across the housing, charity and finance sectors to change the way the region tackles homelessness. The approach was very person-centred.
"It's something that hadn't really been seen before," said Sam, "taking the time to get to know individuals and working with them on their strengths and what they wanted to achieve."
The partnership yielded some fantastic results over three years, including 356 people being supported into accommodation.
(Watch the full interview with Sam above on YouTube)
Lessons Learnt
Sam has returned to Northwards to lead our Tenancy Support Team, a service that very much follows in the footsteps of the partnership with a strong person-focus.
He said: "I think I learnt a lot in terms of working with really complex individuals and really taking that time to get to know people - providing that individualised support.
"Multi-agency collaboration is vital. We've got amazing teams across the organisation supporting people, but without that collaboration with other agencies - whether it's mental health, drug and alcohol services, social services - we're not able to provide the full support that they need.
“Working closely with all those agencies and creating those strong links is certainly something we're looking to build upon, given the great work that's going on already."
