A SPECIALIST service that helps vulnerable people who are at risk of homelessness has been extended for another two years following a successful pilot.

The Complex Housing Intervention Programme (CHIP) in Thurrock offers intensive support for a group of people who have complex needs linked to severe or enduring mental health illness, and/or chronic drug or alcohol use.

They are all Thurrock Council tenants, who are at risk of eviction and are not receiving treatment from mainstream health care services.

The CHIP staff work with each person to understand their individual needs and life experiences so they can get them the right support, using their specialist skills and connections with organisations across Thurrock and Essex.

This includes working closely with mental health care coordinators, Thurrock Council's housing team, charities and voluntary groups.

The CHIP is a collaboration between Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), Thurrock Council, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, and the Forward Trust, a charity which empowers people to break the cycles of addiction or crime.

The service was commissioned in 2023 and is managed by EPUT's Adult Community Psychology Service in South West Essex, which is part of the Trust's Psychological Services Care Unit.

The team includes a Principal Psychologist, a Drug and Alcohol Worker, a Mental Health Social Worker, a Senior Local Area Co-ordinator and a Support Worker for family and carers of the people the team supports. Funding has also been secured for an Assistant Psychologist.

James Lakey, a Principal Psychologist with EPUT's Psychological Services, said: "We work with people who are marginalised and vulnerable, and many will have experienced traumatic events which impacts their health, emotional wellbeing and social networks.

"This can make it more difficult for them to trust statutory services and to access the support they need.

"We are helping a group of people who are caught in a cycle of homelessness and eviction, with an emphasis on securing them a stable home and helping them to maintain this and to improve their health and wellbeing."

The CHIP team launched in September 2023 and supported 17 people in its first year.

Mr Lakey said: "We see people who have very complex needs, and meet with them two to three times a week.

"It does have to be intensive work to make a difference, so we keep our support focussed on those who need it the most."

Cllr Mark Hooper

Cllr Mark Hooper, Thurrock Council Cabinet member for Health and Well-being, said: "We know that a stable and secure home is at the heart of good mental health and physical wellbeing, that is why I am so pleased that this pilot has been such a success and will now be extended for two more years.

"The people this programme helps are extremely vulnerable. It has already proven to be a tremendous help to those who took part in the pilot and I look forward to it helping many more people in the future."

The following feedback has been shared by service users or their loved ones:

• "You have given me the support I need that I can rely on, and given me the choice in how and when I get the support I need."
• "I always thought that one day I would get a knock at the door and it would be the police telling me they have found my brother's body in the woods somewhere. And I knew he would have been somewhere on his own and that would have been horrendous.
• "But that didn't happen. He passed away knowing he was safe and had his family around him. That wouldn't have happened without CHIP."
• "CHIP have been understanding, caring and reassuring."
• "Always calm, which has helped me to view situations differently."

The programme has also had a positive impact in areas such as reducing admissions to hospital, police and criminal justice interactions, and anti-social behaviour reports.

CHIP is funded through the Thurrock Better Care Fund.