50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
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+ Carmarthenshire d Homes Project
March 20 15
50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes
Project:
Final Evaluation
March 2015
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Our Vision
Shelter Cymru’s vision is that everyone in Wales should have a decent home.
We believe
■ a home is a fundamental right and essential to the health and well-being of people and
communities.
■ there must be major changes to law, to the culture and delivery of services and the level of
resources if homelessness and housing need are to be finally eradicated in Wales.
Our Values
Independence
We work for people in housing need without fear or favour. We will constructively challenge
to ensure people are properly assisted and to improve practice and learning.
Respect
We work as equals with the people who use our services. We provide information, advice
and support to help people identify the best options to find and keep a home and to help
them take control of their own lives.
Report written and researched by Hannah Smith
Researcher, Shelter Cymru
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Introduction
Background
Shelter Cymru has previously targeted and worked with many different groups, including
young people aged 16-25 and ex-offenders, on specific projects across Wales. They have,
however, become increasingly aware that older people form a significant number of their
service users, and acknowledged the need to develop better advocacy services for older
people in Wales. More than 20 per cent of Shelter Cymru service users in 2010/11 were over
the age of 50.
In 2009/2010, Shelter Cymru nationally assisted 1,326 people aged 50+ who were facing a
threat of homelessness or living in unsatisfactory housing conditions. Of those facing the
threat of homelessness (76 per cent), 44 per cent were helped to remain in their homes, 21
per cent were helped into alternative accommodation and 15 per cent lost contact with our
services.
However, 25 per cent of over 50s stated that they had faced a similar threat of
homelessness in the last two years, with more than half of this group having sought help
from Shelter Cymru at the time. These statistics suggest that while specialist housing advice
can be an effective means of preventing homelessness at the point of crisis, underlying
factors can remain that leave a person vulnerable to a repeat risk.
Shelter Cymru as an organisation had been considering how best to provide a service which
could assist older people to obtain and retain accommodation, dealing with their housing,
benefits and debt problems.
The 50+ age group has many varied needs related to housing. Some clients may be facing
redundancy and the issues associated with this, such as possible repossession and multiple
debts. Others may be dealing with bereavement and need support to cope alone, or are
finding that their present accommodation is unsuitable due to mobility issues associated with
age. There are also people who are unable to cope financially on a pension and need help
to access other benefits available to them.
At the start of 2010, Carmarthenshire County Council undertook a review into poverty in the
county. They concluded that, in addition to Communities first designated areas in Llanelli
such as Glanymor, Bigyn, Tyisha, Llwynhendy and Lliedi, there is poverty and social
exclusion in both more prosperous areas and rural areas. Parts of Carmarthen town were
also considered to be amongst the most deprived in the county. Shelter Cymru wanted to
utilise their expertise in housing and housing related debt to address this need.
Shelter Cymru set up the 50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project in 2011 funded by the
AdvantAGE stream of the Big Lottery Fund. Shelter Cymru wanted to use volunteers (to be
named ‘project deliverers’) in the provision of an advice and advocacy service for older
people, utilising the skills of those who had previously worked in a housing/benefits/debt
setting or similar environment, to be trained and supported to provide advice, guidance and
support to their contemporaries in the community.
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
The Carmarthenshire 50+ Strategy has five key aims, one of which is to ‘promote the
provision of high quality services and support which enable older people to live as
independently as possibly in a suitable and safe environment’. Shelter Cymru wanted to
contribute to this aim with the provision of the project in the county.
The 50+ Project aims and objectives
The primary objective of the project is to protect a target number of older people from the
trauma of being without a settled home. An important secondary objective is to increase the
ability of those older people involved in delivering the service to remain active contributors to
their communities after their involvement in the project ends.
The project set three outcomes to which its success was to be measured. Within these
outcomes were several annual targets:
1. Homelessness will have been prevented for at least 184 local households of people aged
50+ by enabling them to remain in their homes or assisting them to secure alternative,
suitable accommodation.
This was to be achieved in a number of different ways:
i. to provide advice and advocacy to 360 people aged 50+ presenting with housing
issues. This was to be achieved by helping 100 people by November 12, 140 more
by November 2013 and 120 more by November 2014. Due to the extension of the
project, another 25 were added to the original target
ii. to provide information to 600 people aged 50+ presenting with housing issues.
This was to be achieved by helping 150 people by November 2012 250 more by
November 2013 and 200 more by November 2014
iii. to provide support to 120 people aged 50+ presenting with housing issues. This
was to be achieved by helping 30 people by November 2012, 50 more by November
2013 and 40 more by November 2014. Due to the extension of the project, another
10 were added to the original target.
2. Twelve project deliverers aged 50+ will be better able to contribute to their communities
through the confidence, skills and knowledge gained and through the attainment of a
recognised standard in skills and knowledge for the project role that they have undertaken.
3. The level of homelessness prevention achieved and the proportion of settled homes
maintained 12 months after the presenting crisis will be evaluated to assess the
sustainability of a holistic, peer-led response to housing need for people aged 50+. Findings
will be disseminated to key stakeholders with a view to maintaining this service and
encouraging similar approaches across Wales.
An independent, objective and internal evaluation of the project was first undertaken
between June and November 2013. This second evaluation will assess the developments of
the project since the first evaluation.
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Project Overview
The 50+ Project began in December 2011 with one full-time Project Advisor and one parttime Project Coordinator setting up and developing the project. From the last evaluation it
was noted that the project workers had a lot less time to get this project up and running in
comparison to other projects under the AdvantAGE funding stream. They were expected to
have recruited and trained volunteers by March 2012 with the view to begin delivering the
service. It was realised almost straight away that this was unrealistic. The Project
Coordinator felt that this process took longer than anticipated, and didn’t feel that the project
settled and was fully effective until around 9 months after it began.
Shortly after the 18 month evaluation, the Project Adviser left the post. A few months later,
two part-time Project Advisers were recruited. Following the recommendation of the last
evaluation, a part-time Project Administrator was also recruited.
Current employees and their roles
The paid workers for this project are:




Project Coordinator employed 21 hours per week (increased from 17.5 hours)
Project Adviser employed 14 hours per week (job share)
Project Adviser employed 21 hours per week (job share)
Project Administrator employed 21 hours per week (increased from 17.5 hours).
The Project Coordinator has worked on the project since the start and has seen it evolve
over time. Initially, the role involved the start-up of the project, coordinating policies, setting
up project frameworks and the database, and recruitment and training of volunteers. The
role has continuously involved promoting and networking the project, writing bi-annual
progress reports to the Big Lottery Fund, monitoring and authorising spending alongside the
Shelter Cymru Finance Officer, managing the team, supporting volunteers, and organising
steering groups every 4 months.
The Project Adviser’s role originally was to deliver housing, welfare and money advice with
the specific aim of preventing homelessness and improving housing conditions. The role
also included providing direct advice to people in housing need, as well as technical training
and support to all volunteers. The role has developed over time due to the wide ranging
issues experienced by service users to include helping with care costs, travel pass problems
and healthcare issues.
Since the employment of two new Project Advisers, service delivery has been improved due
to the specialist knowledge that each worker brings. For example, one Project Adviser has
excellent benefits knowledge, whereas the other also works as a Housing Law Caseworker
for Shelter Cymru and has excellent housing and legal knowledge. These two skill sets have
worked well together to provide in-depth advice to service users experiencing different
problems. They also both have good understanding of debt advice, which they can deliver at
a relatively low level. After a certain point debt advice has to be given by another
professional who has a licence to deal with complex cases.
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
The Project Administrator’s role involves answering the office phone, recording information
about service users at the initial point of enquiry, booking appointments for the advisers,
management of the project database, sometimes helping with giving advice over the phone,
attending steering group meetings and other administrative duties.
The project was originally intended to be ‘peer-led’ by volunteers who could deliver the
service to people in housing need. There were supposed to be twelve volunteers aged 50+
working at least twelve hours per week; however this hasn’t been entirely successful for a
number of reasons. Some volunteers may only be able to work three to four hours per week
at local surgeries. Additionally, at some surgeries they may not see many, or any, clients
meaning any training they have undergone hasn’t been put into adequate practise. Over the
course of the project, some volunteers have disengaged whilst others have worked on the
project for a long time.
Notably, the role of the volunteer has evolved over the lifetime of the project and a more
realistic expectation has been developed, particularly in terms of what each individual
volunteer can offer. The peer-led element of the project was overambitious at the start but is
now more realistic in terms of what volunteers are able to deliver.
Project Delivery
There are a number of ways in which people can contact the project for information and
advice. These include:



A dedicated telephone line via which people can arrange a face-to-face appointment
or ask advice over the phone
A dedicated email address for people to write in with their enquiries and are
responded by either
o answering the query
o starting a dialogue
o offering a face-to-face appointment
Attend drop-in based surgeries which are run by both project workers and volunteers.
Most of the regular, scheduled advice sessions take place in Ammanford, Carmarthen,
Llandovery and Llanelli. Advice sessions in Ammanford and Carmarthen are currently
appointment only. The Llanelli service is ‘drop in’ due to its location; at The Hub people can
also access employment and housing advice from both Council and Jobcentre staff.
At the time of the 18 month evaluation it was clear that arranging a large number of home
visits were thought to be unfeasible due to the time consuming nature of travelling to remote
sites and time spent at each appointment. Home visits are still available for clients who are
disabled or otherwise unable to attend the surgeries. It is important to recognise that around
half of all service users are disabled and so the home-visiting service is still necessary to
ensure that those clients unable to travel are not penalised.
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Methodology
For this report, the project was evaluated using analysis of both quantitative and qualitative
data:
1) The quantitative element of the methodology was centred on the statistical analysis of the
project database, which itself has developed significantly in the last 18 months;
2) Qualitative data was collected through a series of semi-structured interviews with each of
the employed project workers, a focus group with four project volunteers and a focus
group with two external stakeholders. Telephone-based semi-structured interviews were
also undertaken with 17 ex-service users.
The questionnaire and topic guides can be found in the Appendix.
Profile of Service Users
The profile of service users is documented in the project database, which consists of the old
database (292 cases) and new database (190 cases). Altogether, there are 482 recorded
cases on the entire database. Of these, 51% of service users are female and 46% are male
(3% unrecorded). 51% of service users identified themselves as disabled, with 25 cases
explicitly seeking help and advice with disability benefits (including Disability Living
Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance).
69% of service users identified themselves as white British, 0.4% white Irish, 2% any other
white background, 0.4% mixed white and black Caribbean, 0.4% mixed white and black
African, 0.2% any other Asian background (excluding Indian, Bangladeshi, or Pakistani). The
remaining service users’ ethnicity was unknown.
Figure 1 illustrates the types of tenure that service users occupied at the point of accessing
the service.
Figure 1
Tenure of Service Users*
100
80
60
40
20
0
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
*NB this chart only shows cases where tenure was recorded on the database
Here it is possible to see that the project supported people living in a wide range of different
tenures, with the most common category being council housing and the least common
residential care. People experiencing homelessness made up 14 of the cases recorded.
How service users contact the project
As noted in the last evaluation, it was envisaged that the majority of service users were likely
to access the project through two ways; first contacting Shelter Cymru and then internally
referred to the project, or referred by local partner organisations. Based on the new
database, referrals were made by a wide range of organisations, including Age Concern,
Age Cymru, Social Services, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Disability Coalition, Eiriol, Gwalia,
Prism, Carmarthenshire County Council and the local Third Sector Brokers. However it is
evident that a significant proportion of people self-referred (53%) compared to referrals
made by external agencies (39%) and Shelter Cymru (7%).
The way in which service users first heard about the project also varied, with most people
learning about it through word of mouth (figure 2).
Figure 2
How did you hear about the project?
Through the
council
15%
Internet
7%
Leaflet
14%
Advocate
14%
Word of
mouth
43%
CAB
7%
Why service users contact the project
The new database distinguishes a number of categories that service users present as the
main issue:
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
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Debt (12%)
Welfare benefits (20%)
Housing (63%)
Other (5%)
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Housing issues are overwhelmingly the main reason people come to the Shelter Cymru
project for advice. Under the umbrella term ‘housing’, people experienced problems relating
to disrepair, wanting to move home, requiring adaptations due to disabilities, escaping
domestic violence, accessing Housing Options, rent/mortgage arrears, neighbour disputes,
eviction, bedroom tax support, homelessness, and finding temporary accommodation.
‘Debt’ included arrears, fuel poverty, accessing food banks and low incomes. ‘Welfare
benefits’ covered applying for benefits, completing forms, appeals, attending assessments
(such as for ATOS) and eligibility. Other specific issues included getting support for family
members suffering dementia and accident compensation.
It is clear from these statistics that the project provides advice and information on a wide
range of issues. The high proportion of people seeking housing advice suggests the need for
the service in the area.
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Findings
1
Outcomes
Objective 1:
Homelessness will have been prevented for at least 184 local households of people aged
50+ by enabling them to remain in their homes or assisting them to secure alternative,
suitable accommodation.
Homelessness has been prevented in 177 cases so far, which is the equivalent of 96% of
the original target – although this target can still be achieved by the project end in the next
three months. This totals 41% of all the recorded cases where homelessness was prevented
by service users contacting the project.
There were three subcategories to the first objective: to provide advice/advocacy, support
and information:
 Advice/advocacy
Original Target: 360 Extension Target: 25
The project workers have exceeded both targets for providing advice and advocacy to a total
of 385. So far, 394 people have received advice from the 50+ project.
 Support
Original Target: 120
Extension Target: 10
Again, the support target has been exceeded. The target was increased to a total of 130 due
to the extension of the project from December to March. So far, 184 service users have
received support from the project workers.
 Information
Target: 600
The information target has not yet been met. This service has been delivered to 550 people
so far.
It was suggested by a Project Adviser that the reason the information target has not yet been
reached is because the database currently only allows input for one instance/topic of
information per case. However information may be provided on more than one occasion on a
number of different topics.
1
The project’s funding was due to end on the 5th December, so the project objectives were due to be met in
November 2014. However, through some under spend accrued in the third year of the project the Big Lottery
Fund extended the project funding to the 5th March 2015.
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
88% of the information provided to service users included verbal communication. 26% was
given verbally with some follow up, such as with a letter or an e-mail. Information was solely
provided through letter or e-mail constituted only 3% of cases.
Objective 2
Twelve project deliverers aged 50+ will be better able to contribute to their communities
through the confidence, skills and knowledge gained and through the attainment of a
recognised standard in skills and knowledge for the project role that they have
undertaken.
The original aim to have twelve volunteers aged 50+ which were to deliver a significant
amount of the project’s service; however this proved harder than initially envisaged. The
Project Coordinator described how the level of knowledge required to deliver the service was
too vast to expect the volunteers to gain in such a relatively short amount of time, and with
limited training. Some of the volunteers said they felt their knowledge was limited because
training arranged by Shelter Cymru had been cancelled on a number of occasions. However,
feedback from the volunteers illustrated that participation in the project felt they had
increased their knowledge and confidence. This element of Objective 2 has therefore been
met.
Objective 3
The level of homelessness prevention achieved and the proportion of settled homes
maintained 12 months after the presenting crisis will be evaluated to assess the
sustainability of a holistic, peer-led response to housing need for people aged 50+.
Findings will be disseminated to key stakeholders with a view to maintaining this service
and encouraging similar approaches across Wales.
Based on the 190 cases in the new database, there were 51 instances of homelessness
being prevented. Within the new database records of when homelessness was prevented
and the outcome upon closure of the case can be recorded. All of these cases are now
closed, indicating that some open cases could still be prevented from homelessness. The
outcomes upon closure of these cases were wide-ranging2:
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

2
7 cases required advice only
7 people were re-homed
10 people had improved their financial situation, such as through benefits
entitlements, successful appeals, clearing debt and backdated DHP payments
6 service users had help with housing or homeless applications
13 cases were referred to external agencies such as Carmarthenshire County
Council or Age Cymru
2 people no longer wanted to proceed with help
1 person’s situation didn’t change because their income was too high to receive
statutory assistance.
Some cases had more than one recorded outcome upon closure
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
It has not been recorded on the new database the extent to which service users were
enabled to improve their situation. However it is evident that the type of assistance the
project provides is enabling people to change their personal circumstances to improve
outcomes for themselves. This is through providing the advice, information and support.
Project Successes
Meeting and exceeding targets
The project has experienced many successes over the past 3 years. Notably, the project
workers have supported and provided advice to a large number of people aged 50+ in the
Carmarthenshire area, going over and above the original targets (see section ‘Objectives’).
Providing tailored support
The project provides an invaluable service, addressing a wide range of issues and also
visiting service users at home. There have been concerns that this may need to be
streamlined in the future due to the time cost associated with it. Nonetheless home visits are
still seen as a necessary part of the service by staff, volunteers, stakeholders and service
users, especially for the high proportion of the service users who identify themselves as
having a disability, and for many this means they are unable to access surgeries or leave
their home.
‘Returning people’s home to being their castle is absolutely paramount for their health
and well-being. And we have done that – we have got them places where they can be
king of their castle again.’
Project Adviser
Furthermore, service users praised the Project Advisers on their approach to some of the
highly sensitive issues they deal with. It was felt by many service users that the service was
tailored to meet their individual needs:
‘...they were extremely patient and thorough’
Service user
‘I can’t fault them. He [previous Project Adviser] was absolutely amazing, and the girl
that took over was. They made you feel at ease, never mind the outcome.’
Service user
‘[the most valued part of the service was] having someone to go and talk to, to discuss
it with. It was an awkward situation. It helped me to get it in perspective- sometimes
you realise that there’s nothing you can do to change something and accept that.’
Service user
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
The most valued part of the service for service users were:

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the option of home visits
the amount of support provided in difficult circumstances
the knowledge of staff
the friendliness and helpfulness of staff
feeling at ease with the project workers
the in-depth information and advice provided.
When asked to rate the service out of ten (ten being excellent), 88% of service users rated it
8 or above, mainly due to the kind nature of the Project Advisers but also because of the
positive outcomes. Some stated that even when they didn’t receive their desired outcome
they were still happy with the service delivery. The two service users who were not so happy
with the service said this was because the outcomes hadn’t gone in their favour, as opposed
to criticising the service itself.
Stakeholders also praised the project for helping over 50’s apply for benefits. This was felt to
be a time-consuming process that isn’t offered by any other organisation in the local area
(that they knew of), but an extremely valuable process in supporting vulnerable people. This
was particularly true given the digital exclusion experienced by a high proportion of 50+
people in the area who do not have access to the internet or a computer.
‘People are having thorough in-depth benefits advice...that it’s tailored for the fifty-plus is
really relevant.’
Stakeholder
Providing volunteering opportunities
The volunteers were thoroughly supportive of the project. They felt that volunteering with
Shelter Cymru had vastly increased their housing, debt and benefits knowledge as well as
their personal confidence.
‘Voluntary work is a two-way thing. It gets you out of the house. It keeps your brain
working.’
Volunteer
‘On a personal basis, from the people on the project, I’ve had immense help and to
build my trust again is going to be difficult for me [if the project was to end]. This project
has given me lots of confidence.’
Volunteer
‘Training and shadowing [the Project Adviser] improved my confidence. I can now deal
with a situation.’
Volunteer
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
A number of volunteers had little or no prior knowledge of housing before volunteering with
the project, but this has developed over time and they felt comfortable in providing low-level
advice and assisting with surgeries. Other volunteers already had expertise in some of the
relevant areas (debt advice/benefits) from previous employment and felt the project allowed
them to utilise their vast amount of knowledge and skills in a positive way, as well as develop
new skills:
‘I’ve got skills and time I want to part with, but I also want to learn’
Volunteer
‘...we’ve been on a debt course, a new benefits course, home efficiency, how to save
money with energy and shadowing the staff.’
Volunteer
‘They have a lot of people who walk in off the street like me, but it takes years of
training. You don’t get volunteers like this coming in very often...of this calibre.’
Volunteer (talking about other volunteers)
Improved administration
The previous evaluation highlighted a number of issues in old database that resulted from
the previous Project Advisors more hands-on approach. Due to an overestimation in the
budget required to recruit and train volunteers, the project had an under spend in the first
year which allowed them to employ a Project Administrator in Year 2 to take over a number
of duties previously undertaken by the Project Advisor. This has been a huge success for the
project database which is now more comprehensive and easier to maintain. Furthermore all
telephone calls are now recorded so that when Advisors are in the office they are aware of
work that needs to be undertaken.
‘The database was a huge issue……I now have more of an awareness of the project,
project admin is a great support. The project admin is a good support. She knew the
database was my thing, and she’s done an excel course.’
Project Coordinator
Settling down of the project
The Project Coordinator, who has worked on the project since its set up three years ago, felt
that the project was much more settled particularly since the employment of two part-time
Project Advisers after the 18-month stage. It was felt that having two Project Advisers has
many benefits, including differing areas of expertise, better communication and more
information is being recorded to support the database. Due to the initial difficulties with
starting up the project, such as not having enough time to initiate policies and recruit
volunteers, the Project Coordinator felt that their role became blurred with the Project
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Adviser and this became problematic. Since two new Project Advisers have been employed,
the roles have become clearer again which has made the Project Coordinator’s job easier:
‘Now it’s amazing. It’s so much clearer, can see where we are, who we’ve seen. It’s
made a massive difference to me. I feel as a coordinator I’ve got more control in the
project because I know what’s going on...I’m able to complete my role better.’
Project Coordinator
Due to a project underspend the Project Coordinators weekly hours were able to be
increased from 17.5 to 21, which allowed her to complete more work and have a better
relationship with the Advisers.
The Project Coordinator said that the project took around 9 months to get properly ‘up-andrunning’, and it is evident that the second year of the project saw a lot more engagement
with service users. In Year 1, there were 297 recorded instances of providing
advice/information/support, and in Year 2 there were 508 recorded cases. The third year has
seen reduction in the number of instances to 323, but all project staff and volunteers said
this was a direct result of both the project’s funding coming to an end as well as the time
taken to recruit new Project Advisors.
Success at grant applications
It was noted that the project has been very successful at grant applications for their service
users, and on the whole they receive the grants that they apply for through different
charities. Examples of such successes include:


A service user receiving a backdated payment of £762 because of being exempt
from bedroom tax
Another service user being awarded a total of £120 by the Kidney Association to
cover the cost of 6 months car tax.
Project Challenges
Attendance at surgeries
The volunteers and project workers all expressed a degree of frustration at the lack of
attendance at the local surgeries where in some weeks no one attends. This occurs for both
drop-in and pre-arranged appointments. It was felt that the new site in Llanelli might be in
part responsible for the lack of clients at the drop-in surgery:
‘We moved into a new site which is in the town centre. We’re not getting as many
clients as we need to because we are new there.’
Volunteer
‘It’s not necessarily better by appointment because people have chaotic lifestyles so
sometimes they can’t make it. Last week we had gaps although we had clients booked
all morning, no one turned up.’
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Volunteer
Many volunteers thought the project needed to be better advertised by Shelter Cymru so that
people would know they were there. They felt that there were definitely a lot of people in the
area who could benefit from accessing the surgeries but it was just a case of them knowing
where and when the surgery operates.
‘We’ve had weeks at the Hub, which is a great venue for access, disabilities, in the
centre of the town, it’s flat, there’s no issues. We’ve sat there for weeks with the
volunteers but no one comes in. It’s due to the lack of publicity.’ (Project Adviser)
Office issues
In the previous evaluation it was reported that the office space presented issues for the
project and this is still an on-going issue. The office is wholly unsuitable for many people
because it is completely inaccessible for mobility-disabled volunteers and service users. As
a result, some disabled volunteers have been unable to assist in admin-based work from the
office, and the office is unsuitable for hosting surgeries or appointments with service users.
Capacity
Again, capacity was reported as a challenge in the last evaluation due to the overestimation
of the peer-led element. As volunteers have been unable to deliver as much of the frontline
service as originally planned, the Project Advisers have had to be as available to service
users as possible. The Project Advisers stressed that they are time pressured due to a high
volume of work and only working part-time hours. This is exacerbated by fewer volunteers
than expected, and even with similar local organisations taking up some of the workload,
there is still high demand for the service delivered by the 50+ project.
Recruitment gap
When the first Project Adviser handed in their notice, there had just been a successful relaunch of the project. The project received more referrals but there was no one to pick up
these extra cases until the new Project Advisers were in post, by which time the cases had
been referred on to other organisations. It appears that this continues to impact the number
of referrals being made to the Shelter Cymru 50+ project.
‘[the referrals] hasn’t picked up much since. We still continue to network...it doesn’t
resonate so much anymore, and we’re stuck in a sort of limbo because of the funding
coming to an end.’
Project Coordinator
Volunteer training
All of the volunteers agreed that the project had improved their knowledge and skills.
However, they also agreed that there were some topics they would have liked to have
training in. One volunteer said he had signed up for Shelter Cymru training on housing, but
this was cancelled due to lack of interest. He felt that, volunteering for Shelter Cymru, his
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
housing knowledge should be better than what it was and that he really would have
benefitted from this specific training.
It is important to note that Shelter Cymru had arranged for all volunteers to receive training
at the start of the project, but for volunteers who joined the project later it wasn’t always
possible to arrange training. Furthermore due to lack of demand and finances, it wouldn’t
have been cost-effective for Shelter Cymru to hold training in these circumstances.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
The 50+ Project has received praise for delivering such a valued service in the local
community over the past three years. It has built up excellent relationships between project
workers and volunteers and has helped provide advice, support and information for
hundreds of local people particularly in relation to the resolution of housing-related issues,
debt and welfare benefits advice.
The project has delivered invaluable practical help to many vulnerable people such as going
through benefit applications, visiting disabled service users at home, or support through
appeals. It has empowered numerous people over 50 by enabling them to improve their
personal situation with information or advice. The project has also enabled volunteers to
build on their knowledge, skills and confidence, and has provided them with excellent
support. The project has exceeded in meeting two of the targets set for providing support
and advice. Providing information to 600 people is only under target by 50, and it is possible
this target too will be met by March.
In the past year, the project has slowed down in terms of the number of referrals it is
receiving. This has been caused by a number of factors: the gap in post between the
previous and new Project Advisers and the project funding coming to an end in February.
The surgeries haven’t been that well attended overall, with both drop-in and appointment
based surgeries sometimes being completely non-attended. The peer-led element of the
project was somewhat overestimated in the plan of the project, and this has stretched the
project workers’ capacity.
Recommendations
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Since 51% of the service users identify themselves as disabled, the office needs to
be accessible to disabled service users and volunteers in order for them to get the
most out of the project. The project would benefit from moving to a new centrally
located office that has disabled access.
Volunteers training needs should be addressed as quickly as possible after
commencing in the role, they would then be able to give more in-depth advice to
service users, which would take some pressure off the Project Advisers.
Due to the time pressures experienced by the Project Advisers regarding home visits,
it would be beneficial to create a more detailed set of questions to be asked at the
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
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initial point of enquiry between the project worker and the service user. It can then be
used to determine early on if a service user will require a home visit.
Since the employment of two part-time Project Advisers, the Project Coordinator
does not always have the chance to meet with both advisers. As such, monthly
meetings should be organised where the whole team get together to discuss
progress and any issues being experienced by staff members.
Due to the project successes neighbouring towns would benefit from a similar service
where there is a large older population. Should the project receive further funding,
the project could be developed across other counties.
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Appendix
Topic guide one - project workers
Methodology: Semi structured interview – face to face
What is your role in the AdvantAGE project?
What type of advice did your organisation provide to the households taking part in
the Project?
On the whole do you think you have been able to perform your role effectively to
achieve the aims of the Project?
If you encountered difficulties, please explain what these were.
Do you think the aims of the project are clear to other stakeholders? How were
these aims communicated to them? Do you think this process could be improved?
Do you think the aims of the project are clear to service users? How were these
aims communicated to them? Do you think this process could be improved?
Looking at the households that participated in the Project, what do you think were
the main factors that led to their participation?
How effective do you think the advice you provided to the household was?
Do you think it could have been better? If so, how could this advice have been
improved?
Generally speaking, would you say households have benefited from taking part in
the Project?
Please explain your reasons for this.
What have been the barriers to success?
To what extent do you think the aims of the Project have been achieved?
Has the peer-led element been a success? Explore reasons.
Is the Project helping to achieve Shelter Cymru’s aims?
Do you think AdvantAGE should continue in its present form and/or do you have any
suggestions as to how it can be improved?
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Topic guide two – service users
Methodology: Semi structured telephone interview
How did you first learn about the AdvantAGE Project?
Do you know what the aims of the Project are?
Did you understand the aims of the Project?
What were your reasons for contacting the project
What type of advice did you receive as part of the Project?
Do you think everyone working on the Project understood your situation?
Were your advice needs met by the advice worker?
What were the outcomes of the advice you received? i.e. did you stay in your home,
move to alternative accommodation etc?
Do you think you received all the advice you needed?
If not, how could this advice have been improved?
If you encountered difficulties, please explain what these were and how they were
resolved (if they were).
Generally speaking, would you say you’ve benefited from the advice you were
given?
Please explain your reasons for this (including long and short term benefits where
possible).
Would you recommend the Project to others?
Do you think the Project should continue in its present form and/or do you have any
suggestions as to how it can be improved?
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Topic guide three – volunteer workers
Methodology: Focus group
How long have you been an AdvantAGE volunteer?
How did you first learn about the AdvantAGE Project?
What made you decide to be an AdvantAGE volunteer?
What does your role involve?
On the whole do you think you have been able to perform your role effectively to
achieve the aims of the Project?
If you encountered difficulties, please explain what these were.
Do you think the aims of the project are clear to other stakeholders? How were
these aims communicated to them? Do you think this process could be improved?
Do you think the aims of the project are clear to service users? How were these
aims communicated to them? Do you think this process could be improved?
Has the project met your aims in terms of your expectations of volunteering?
Why/why not? Has it increased your ability to remain active contributors to your
community after involvement in the project ends? Did the project increase your skills
and confidence to better contribute to their communities through future paid or
unpaid work? etc
Generally speaking, would you say households have benefited from taking part in
the Project?
Please explain your reasons for this.
What have been the barriers to success?
To what extent do you think the aims of the Project have been achieved?
Is the Project helping to achieve Shelter Cymru’s aims?
Do you think AdvantAGE should continue in its present form and/or do you have any
suggestions as to how it can be improved?
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50+ Carmarthenshire Settled Homes Project: Final evaluation
Topic guide four–Stakeholders
Methodology: Focus group
What is your understanding of the project and what were the intended outcomes ?
What was your involvement in the project?
Do you think that the project is successfully working towards meeting its aims?
How do you think that the project had benefited the service users?
How do you think the project has benefitted stakeholders?
Did the project workers communicate with you well?
Is there evidence of effective partnership working?
What are the positive aspects of the project? What is the projects biggest strength?
What are the barriers or challenges that the project has faced?
Have there been any barriers with using volunteers for the project? What could be
done to improve this aspect of the project?
What is the biggest threat to the project in the future?
How might the project be refined or improved
Any other comments on the project?
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