Mike Hyden Email & Phone Number

England, United Kingdom

Bedford

I advocate for people who have lost their home in Bedford Borough in order that they receive the assistance they are legally owed through the Housing Act 1996. This also sometimes involves pursuing issues in relation to the Care Act, Equality Act and Data Protection Act.I typically hold a caseload of around 20 households including single people and families, and ensure that they are treated lawfully - by challenging Council gatekeeping and flawed decisions. In almost all cases, this results in applicants being housed in independent, safe, secure accommodation in the social housing or private rented sectors.I also co-wrote a report into Bedford Borough Council failures to those who were unlawfully left homeless after experiencing domestic abuse, based on case studies I had been involved in. This report was submitted to the local MP and Mayor and resulted in numerous improvements to Council services.I also deliver training to other professionals in related sectors about Homelessness Law as a way to equip the sector to get more people housed, and I manage the charity's social media, using my photos throughout the website and Facebook page. As part of this I created the Facebook group 'Better Homelessness Practice' to give space for professionals to share expertise between various sectors.

Bedford

I worked in a multi-disciplinary team delivering tier 2 and 3 support to individuals affected drug and alcohol issues.The role involved close partnership working with medics, social workers, child and adult safeguarding teams, criminal justice teams and various voluntary sector agencies, as well as making onward referrals to tier 4 services.The service was rated outstanding by CQC in May 2015.

Bedford

My role required me to work creatively with individuals identified as having complex support needs, who were not engaging with other support services, in order to support them to find suitable housing.This required building close partnerships with key agencies across the voluntary and statutory agencies in order to offer effective support to each client.In this time I also led on Bedfordshire's No Second Night Initiative, working with Luton Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Homeless Link. I created the action plan and worked to partner agencies to deliver it.This included initiatives that had not been tried before, like organising training on Complex Trauma which was attended by nearly 100 local workers from various sectors relating to homelessness.

Bedford

I managed a team of 12 workers in a direct access supported accommodation service for individuals who had nowhere to live.During the time I managed the service I focussed on improving the practical support we delivered to those using the service, particularly in terms of supporting people to obtain somewhere to live. These improvements led to the positive move-on percentage increase from 45% to 70%.