Having a safe place to call home is fundamental to health, wellbeing and recovery, yet for many people experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, substance use challenges or exploitation, finding and keeping a home can feel impossible without the right support.

Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, the Housing Support and Cuckooing Teams at With You are working alongside people facing some of the most complex challenges, helping them stay safe, secure stable accommodation and begin rebuilding their lives.

Over the last year (April 2025 to March 2026), the Housing Support Team engaged with 876 people, helping 191 people remain in secure accommodation where their tenancy was at risk and assisting the remaining individuals with housing related support. Alongside preventing homelessness, the team provides practical and emotional support with everything from accessing benefits and managing debts to furnishing homes, setting up utilities, liaising with housing providers and coordinating support with adult social care and health services.

The team’s approach is centred on meeting people where they are. Through assertive outreach and trauma-informed practice, staff recognise that attending appointments is not always possible for people living with anxiety, poor mental health or the impact of trauma.

One woman in her thirties was referred to the service after receiving an eviction notice while experiencing poor physical and mental health alongside alcohol dependency. Traditional office appointments felt overwhelming, so the team adapted their approach, visiting her in the community and building trust over time.

Working alongside local housing partners, they helped her secure a rent deposit scheme and find a new privately rented home. They then supported her to furnish the property, establish household bills and settle into her new environment.

With the stability of a safe home, she felt able to focus on her recovery from alcohol use, engaging with treatment and becoming abstinent through With You’s recovery programme.

Reflecting on her journey, she said:

“I’m so happy with the support from the With You Housing Support Team. I feel like their help was what led to real change in my life. I could not have done this without them.”

Another client, a young man experiencing substance dependency, significant physical and mental health challenges and the risk of homelessness, faced losing all accommodation after being asked to leave shared housing.

The Housing Support Team maintained daily contact, advocating tirelessly alongside BCP Council’s Housing Intervention Team and other agencies. Their persistence resulted in emergency accommodation being secured, preventing him from sleeping rough. Continued support enabled him to move into more stable accommodation before beginning an inpatient detoxification programme and progressing into an abstinence-based recovery programme.

His story demonstrates how stable housing is often the first step towards improved health, recovery and independence.

Alongside housing support, With You delivers a specialist Cuckooing Team, helping people experiencing exploitation within their own homes.

Cuckooing occurs when an individual or organised group takes over the home of someone they perceive to be vulnerable, often using coercion, intimidation or violence. People experiencing mental ill health, substance dependency, disability or social isolation can be particularly at risk.

Between May 2025 and May 2026, the specialist team received 90 referrals, supporting 48 men and 42 women. Around 64% of referrals involved social housing, and the team successfully resolved 30 cases, meaning the exploitation had stopped by the time support ended.

Working closely with Dorset Police, housing providers, adult social care, community mental health teams, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and other partners, the team provides coordinated, wraparound support. Interventions can include safety planning, strengthening home security, managed moves, police welfare checks, boundary-setting, ongoing housing support and specialist drug and alcohol services.

One man in his fifties, living alone with complex physical and mental health needs, recognised that people had begun exploiting him in his own home and disclosed his concerns to his key worker.

The Cuckooing Team acted quickly, listening to his experiences, providing emergency contact arrangements and coordinating a multi-agency response. As the risks escalated and he experienced serious violence, the team supported him to move immediately to the safety of family members before coordinating a permanent relocation closer to his support network.

He has since shared that he is safe, settled and continuing to receive treatment and support.

These stories demonstrate that recovery is rarely about one intervention alone. It is about building trust, working in partnership and responding to each person’s individual circumstances with compassion, persistence and practical support.

By combining housing expertise, safeguarding and close partnership working across health, housing, social care and policing, With You’s Housing Support and Cuckooing Teams continue to help some of the area’s most vulnerable residents find safety, stability and hope for the future.

Find out more

For referrals or further information about the Housing Support Team, contact hss.bcp@wearewithyou.org.uk.

For referrals or information about the Cuckooing Team, contact bcpcuckooingteam@wearewithyou.org.uk.