Bramwell House Lifehouse

Our clients must have signed on the homeless register of Blackburn, Darwen Council, and be ready to engage with staff in an effort to access and maintain their own tenancy.

We accommodate both men and women from the ages of 18 to 65. Their stay at our Lifehouse can range from a few weeks to a few months. All residents are provided with both practical and emotional support by trained staff.

To enter the service, a referral needs to be made via Blackburn with Darwen Housing Needs team. If you require accommodation, you can complete an online enquiry form.

Alternatively you can contact Housing Needs on 01254 585444 – Option 1.

Our programme is designed to help our clients craft a new sense of self, renew their sense of independence and control, and realise their potential as members of the community.

We have a Specialist Support Worker at the centre, leading a biweekly BAT (Beating Addictions Together) Group.  A drug & alcohol worker from Inspire also attends the site.

The following programmes take place once a week;

• Cooking Group – Clients will research their own meal ideas, they will look at how much this will cost as a way of budgeting and then receive support in cooking the meal. The aim of Cooking Group is to help with living skills as well as budgeting.
• Employment, Training & IT Skills – This group is designed to help clients create their CV and apply for jobs. They can also use this session to complete training courses via The Salvation Army iLearn. The session is also available to help clients to better their IT knowledge.
• Budgeting Support – This group is done to help clients with their budgeting. We understand they receive a small amount of money and to help them understand how to make their money stretch to cover all their priority spending. If any clients have received a notice to quit due to non-payment, we ask that they attend these groups.  
• Housing Support – A member of the Housing Needs Team attends the centre to speak to any clients that are experiencing issues in obtaining their own property. They can offer any advice and guidance in regards to social housing.
• Therapeutic Art Sessions – An external volunteer comes into the centre to lead these sessions. Each week has a different activity. These sessions gives the chance for our clients to forget about everything going on and enjoy a quiet space and time and be creative.
• Our Chaplain also runs programme twice a week, these sessions are ‘Exploring Faith’ these are video sessions of people who have turned to Faith to help them with their addiction issues and ‘Story of the Bible’ this is bible studies but at a basic level. Our Chaplain also holds ‘Thoughts of the Day’ 3 times a week. Anyone can attend these for prayers.

There are 49 rooms in the main centre and an additional 6 rooms in our resettlement programme.

For those living in the main centre, breakfast and tea will be provided in the canteen. Clients have access to the large lounges on the ground floor as well as access to a smaller lounge on your landing. They share a landing with other clients and there will be shared facilities for toilet, shower and bath.

Clients living in our resettlement programme provide their own meals. There are kitchen facilities available for this. Clients have their own room and share communal spaces, including a bathroom, lounge and kitchen. The resettlement programme aims to promote more independent living.

All clients have access to:

• Laundry facilities.
• A training room where they can use the computers provided.
• A fitness room where they can use the gym equipment and weight machines.