LinkLiving wins TPAS Best Practice Award

The award seeks to celebrate the contribution of a landlord, contractor, or agency body whose contribution is worthy of the highest praise and improved the lives of its service users.

Sarah Smith, CEO of LinkLiving, said: “I am absolutely delighted LinkLiving has been recognised nationally through winning this prestigious award. It is fabulous to see our staff and our programs, which improve the lives of those who we support, gain this fantastic recognition. I’m also hugely grateful to our dedicated volunteers and fundraisers who tirelessly ensure LinkLiving thrives so it can support those who desperately need our services.”

One of the initiatives highlighted in LinkLiving’s submission for the awards is the Help on Managing Everything (HoME) project. It came into being after Link housing officers identified a variety of issues that tenants struggle with where traditional housing services needed to be strengthened with a more supportive and flexible programme.

Working together with housing teams, LinkLiving project workers provide needs-led intensive housing management assistance, enabling tenants to better maintain their homes, settle into communities, address and resolve any immediate housing crisis, and assess if they need ongoing specialist support.

The benefits of this initiative have been dramatic, including fewer evictions, tenants receiving the support they require and accessing all the welfare services available to them, as well as improving engagement between the housing providers and the people involved.

In order to support tenants with mental health challenges, LinkLiving introduced an innovative self-help service called Building Resilience for a Better Home. Delivered remotely through video calling or telephone, this project enables people to manage and understand their current difficulties using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based techniques. Through the provision of up to nine sessions, tenants are supported to understand how their difficulties started, factors that have contributed to these difficulties continuing, and then develop tools and techniques to better manage their mental health.

Both of the above services are delivered in partnership with Link, Larkfield, and Paragon Housing Associations, who recognise the benefits of the services to their tenants, both in terms of improved mental health and ability to successfully maintain their tenancies.

The submission also highlighted a number of innovative programmes which improve mental health and wellbeing for young people. Sporting Chance comprises of a series of interactive mental health and wellbeing workshops which run in the mornings. In the afternoon, through partnerships with football clubs and sports providers, including Falkirk, Raith Rovers, and Grey Soccer Academy in Edinburgh, young people get involved in football activities. These sessions allow them to develop leadership skills, build confidence and resilience, as well as improving physical health.

Moving on Up runs five days a week and uses a trauma-informed approach to support young people in increasing confidence, developing resilience, and realise their goals. It’s a person-centred programme where young people have a voice and get to choose how their support works for them. Participants work with a dedicated project worker, take part in group work, as well as receiving one-on-one support. They also undertake SCQF qualifications.

Steps to Resilience supports young people by giving them the tools to better manage their own mental health. Doing so helps them break negative and destructive cycles of behaviour and thinking, the programme also aims to put young people on the path to having the best life possible.

The TPAS Scotland National Good Practice Awards recognise the fantastic work and innovation happening across the sector, both by individuals and organisations. The awards took place at the TPAS Scotland Annual Conference in Clydebank on Wednesday, June 28, and Thursday, June 29.