A Riverside housing scheme that supports veterans experiencing homelessness has won a prestigious community award.

Hardwick House in Middlesbrough scooped the Improving Employment Opportunities for Residents accolade in the Community Civic Awards 2019.

The annual ceremony took place at Middlesbrough Town Hall to celebrate the town’s unsung community heroes.

Hardwick House was up against two other supported services, and was nominated by a resident for the work staff do to help customers into training and employment.

Phillip Thompson, Service Manager for Hardwick House, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won and it is really nice to be recognised for the hard work and dedication given by staff.

“We do a lot of work with Middlesbrough Council and our partners in the community to ensure we create the best support for our customers, and that they link up with other organisations to get them back on their feet.”

Hardwick House opened in 2016, providing accommodation and support for single homeless veterans in Teesside. The service works with ex-servicemen and women for up to 18 months supporting them to make a successful transition into permanent housing and employment.

One of the key elements of its success is Riverside’s Psychologically Informed Environments (PIEs), which help customers to increase their self-esteem, belief and hope so they achieve their goals.

Phillip added: “It’s important that we have the right approach which works for our customers, and PIES is very much orientated in ensuring that everyone feels very welcome. It’s all about the rapport that we create – building trusting relationships.

“We work with a lot of partners in Teesside and building networks in industry to create training and employment opportunities for our customers.

“It’s a very holistic approach that we do, consisting of three main areas – training and employment; housing support and successfully moving on to live independently; and health and wellbeing.”

More details about Hardwick House can be found here.