Tower Hamlets Crisis House Wins National Award

Congratulations to the specialist housing provider Look Ahead, and mental health services in Tower Hamlets who are celebrating after the Tower Hamlets Crisis House was awarded 'Support and Care Team of the Year' at the national Housing Heroes Awards 2019 ceremony.

 

Held in Manchester on 24 June, the award recognised the team at Look Ahead’s Tower Hamlets Crisis House, for their dedicated work to supporting vulnerable people in their time of need.

 

Working in Partnership
The Tower Hamlets Crisis House is commissioned by and delivered in partnership with ELFT and offers short-term accommodation to people experiencing mental health crisis. The cost-effective alternative to acute hospital admission provides accommodation, care and support, to those who are too unwell to be treated at home.

 

ELFT Service Director, Edwin Ndlovu, is really pleased for the team. He said, "I want to congratulate the Tower Hamlets Crisis House team on this well deserved award. The team provide a calm and caring environment for local people experiencing mental health issues enabling them to feel safe, and to recuperate and recover alongside support from mental health care staff at ELFT. It is a really effective partnership so we are really pleased that it has been recognised by Housing Heroes."

 

The Crisis House was shortlisted for the same award two years ago. The team are constantly striving to make a real difference and help some of the most vulnerable people in society. This year, Tower Hamlets Crisis House expanded its provision in order to offer a new community support service, which offers support sessions for local residents.

 

Chris Hampson, Chief Executive of Look Ahead, said: “Tower Hamlets was Look Ahead's first ever crisis house, and for it to be awarded support and care team of the year is a tremendous accolade for the service our team provides. Last year alone, the Tower Hamlets Crisis House team supported 114 people. Based upon NHS Health of the Nation Outcome Scores (HONOS), 94% showed an overall improvement in mental health and not a single person chose to leave the service early.  This is an incredible achievement and it demonstrates just how much our work is valued.

“Winning this award is a testament to the hard work and dedication our team show, day-in-day-out, to the individuals who come to us needing help and support.”

 

 

Dr Rahul Bhattacharya, Consultant Psychiatrist who works closely with the Crisis House added, "The Look Ahead Housing and ELFT partnership project offers a community alternative to hospital admission'. It was included as a case study in the national 'crisis and acute alternative provision' in NHS England's information pack in June 2019."