Living at Contact

Routine of the house – make a positive contribution!

 

What does my rent pay for? Contact asks you to pay a small amount of your own money as rent. This money goes towards things like the T.V license and water rates. It also helps you to learn how to budget. Don’t forget that we are not a hotel and we are not a money making business.

Food! You must buy your own food. Contact provides breakfast and Sunday lunch. If you need to learn how to cook we can help you but you must buy the ingredients. You can also learn how to be healthy!

My room – You must keep your room clean and tidy. This is a Heath & Safety issue and there are regular room checks done by staff. By law, Contact has to make sure this is a safe living and working environment. Don’t forget that if you can look after your bedroom then you are learning the skills to look after yourself too.

Shared space – If you find anything wrong in your room or in the building, in general then please tell staff as soon as you can. You can also write the problem down in the book in the hall. This is a Health & Safety issue too.

Don’t know where the book is? It should be in the hall downstairs but if there is anything you don’t know just ask!

Contact Hostel is a large comfortable house. It is important to keep it clean and tidy too so don’t forget to take your things to your room. When you cook don’t forget to clean as you go so it’s easy to keep clean. When you leave a room it should be ready for someone else to use or relax in. So tidy up after yourself!

Laundry Days are different for each room. We can show you how to use the washing machines and how to iron too. Stick to your day and remember to take your things up to your room. Any clothes that have not been taken up by 11am Monday morning will be put in a bag for Oxfam.

What time do I have to be in at night?

The doors are locked at 11pm and at midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Can I stay out? How many nights?
You can stay out a maximum of 3 nights in a week.

Tell staff when you are going out and tell them if you are staying out.

This is important because if there was a fire, no one would know if you were in and someone might get hurt looking for you.

If there is no contact from you for 48 hours we will phone the police and report you missing!

Visitors are welcome at Contact and we ask that service users and visitors act in a respectful manner and do not disturb the peace, privacy and safety of the other service users. Visitors must be over the age of 16 and female. Visitors Policy

The official time for visiting in on a Saturday from 11am to 10.30pm and is at the discretion of the staff on duty. The staff on duty retains the right to refuse a visitor onto the premises and also to request them to leave at any time.

• Contact has a policy of zero tolerance regarding alcohol or drugs on the premises. If you smoke you must smoke outside at the back and take care to put your cigarette out carefully and into a bin.

• Contact insists that everyone is treated with respect and has a policy of zero tolerance on bullying, racisms, threats or violence – Stay safe

Your side of the contract – Achieve economic well-being / Enjoy and achieve.

It is important that you attend your support sessions.

If you do not access support then Contact can’t help you or support you.

It is important that you attend the service user meetings.

This is where you can tell us your ideas, find out about what’s going on, tell us if there is a problem and we can change things too.

It is important that you are in education or training. Learning new skills and working towards a goal will help you to create a better future for yourself.

• ‘If I don’t keep to my side of the contract?’ If you don’t follow the rules then Contact is not the place for you and you will have to leave.

• ‘If I break the rules?’ Then you will first have a verbal warning. The next stage is a written warning and the last is when you are given 28 days notice to move out. It is possible to have this notice extended if you promise to change your behaviour and follow the rules. If it is serious then you will be evicted immediately!

• Contact has a policy on evictions and on Fair Exit. There must be good reasons why someone is asked to leave. If you have been asked to move out then you can appeal. Contact YASP or Supporting People or the Citizens Advice Bureau (see useful phone numbers) and they can support you and help you with your rights.

• What does Contact offer? Contact is a safe and supportive environment. It offers a stable home where you can live and start to build a future for yourself. You can learn life skills, talk about any problems you have and enjoy your time here too. We can help you to help yourself as you grow to become an independent adult.

• Treats and trips out – sometimes Contact can treat you to a treat like a takeaway to share with everyone, or a trip out somewhere to do something different. Over the last 12 months the service users at Contact have been to the cinema, a holiday to London, Ice Skating, Horse Riding, and a holiday at Butlin’s in Skegness.

Complaints procedure

If you have a complaint that you do not feel you can talk to the staff about then please contact

The Trustees of Contact and Supporting People.

• What is a complaint? If you feel that you are treated unfairly or differently to other people then make a complaint. If you are unhappy with the support that you have then make a complaint. But if you are happy and Contact has done something right then send us a compliment! Don’t forget that the staff here are people too. We want to improve things if there is a problem and only you can help us to do that. Compliments and Complaints form

Contact

The Trustees, Contact Hostel, Norwood, 339 Wilbraham Road,
Whalley Range, Manchester, M16 8GL

Supporting People – 0161 234 3605 – Number One First Street, Manchester, M15 4FN

• Suggestions! If you have any ideas we are always happy to hear them. There are some suggestion forms next to the box on the wall in the hall. Just write your idea and put it in the box. Then we can have a look at your ideas – and if we can – we will do something about it too.

• What is a suggestion? It might be about something you want to change like times you can access the internet. It might be about going somewhere for a trip. It might be about getting help with a hobby or activity like learning how to swim. So what are your ideas?