FAQs

No, we don’t. Restore started in 2011 with a partnership with Green Pastures Housing. As a partner of Green Pastures, we can approach them in order to purchase properties within our local area which are suitable for our purposes which fit into certain criteria, such as size, number of bedrooms, price, local amenities, and so on. Once the property has been purchased, Restore lease the property from Green Pastures and make a monthly lease payment. We do not own the properties, but the lease means that we take care of the upkeep, decoration, fixtures and fittings, utilities, and we sustain void periods when we have empty bedrooms. Green Pastures have purchased several properties in York which are currently being managed by Restore.

Our other properties are all owned by other people and/or trusts but are managed under similar long-term lease conditions which we have with Green Pastures. If you are a property owner and would like to speak to someone about Restore potentially leasing your property please get in touch.

Restore receives rent for its properties which covers approximately two thirds of our annual costs. This money is paid directly to Restore in the form of housing benefit payments, plus a weekly contribution from residents towards utilities and some aspects of their rent which is not covered by housing benefit. Residents who are working do not have the same entitlement to housing benefit and so make a proportionately larger contribution towards their rent based on their income.

Approximately one third of our income is generated through trust fundraising, fundraising events, and charitable giving. Without charitable giving we could not operate as a charity. Please consider whether you could support us in providing homes and hope to people in York by becoming a regular giver.

Each resident is allocated a support worker who can spend up to three hours per week providing them with support. Some of this support will be face to face and some of it will be on behalf of the resident, such as writing emails, making phone calls, completing paperwork. Each resident will see their support worker at least once a week.

Each resident will have a support plan to reflect their needs and we will provide support in a variety of ways, such as enabling people to access education, training and employment, volunteer opportunities, mentoring, counselling, physical exercise, pursuit of hobbies, and accessing church activities. Some of the support that we offer will be provided directly by Restore, and other specialist support will be facilitated by external agencies. We also offer regular social events for our residents.

Each person who moves into one of our houses needs to be referred by an agency through the Single Access Point referral system. This referral will give Restore information about the applicant’s background and reasons for their homelessness. Our administrator will do a needs and risk assessment based on the information contained in the referral, and we might then contact other agencies to find out more information.

If someone passes the risk/needs assessment they will be called to an interview at the Restore office where they will sit down with two members of staff to discuss their application, their hopes for the future, and the responsibilities of being a Restore resident. If all parties agree that a move to Restore is the best option, then we will attempt to allocate a room to the person at the earliest opportunity.

No. As a Christian charity we are open and honest with the people we work with that we are a faith-based organisation and that the members of staff they meet will all be actively involved in their local church. Part of the support we offer is the opportunity to access local churches and Christian groups. However, there is no expectation that residents attend church once they move in. We gladly provide the same standard of accommodation and support to people of all faiths, all belief systems, and all backgrounds.

No. Each property is a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO). This means that there are three or more unrelated people living in the property. Each resident has their own bedroom which has a lockable door. We provide a bed, bedding, and furniture within the bedroom. In the communal areas residents share a bathroom, kitchen and living room which are all fully furnished by Restore.

Our staff work from the office which is based in the Gateway Centre in Acomb. A member of staff will visit each property every week, and every month there is a property inspection to ensure the safety, security and standard of the accommodation. In addition to this, members of staff will meet with residents on a weekly basis to have a one to one meeting about their progress towards the goal in their support plan.

There is no set period for how long people can stay at Restore, although we want to emphasise progress and eventual resettlement as part of our work. We would hope that with the support we offer we would be able to see people move on into independent accommodation within twelve to eighteen months of arriving at Restore. We work closely with City of York Council and the private rented sector to ensure that when people are ready they can move into suitable accommodation.

The majority of our residents are male, which is a reflection of the demand we receive for accommodation, but we do have some accommodation for female residents. All of our properties are single gender accommodation. A further two properties are single person bedsits that could accommodate male or female residents. 

We are delighted that the vast majority of our residents leave our service in the best possible way: successfully moving into independent accommodation, equipped with all the skills they need to ensure that they have a bright future ahead of them. However, sadly that is not always the case.

Sometimes we see people make a backwards step in their resettlement. We have a set of house rules and a disciplinary process to challenge and change negative behaviour which could impact on other residents and staff. If, after a series of verbal and written warnings, a resident has not improved their behaviour then sadly we have to take measures to move people out of our properties. This is generally done in partnership with emergency and temporary accommodation providers to ensure that people do not become street homeless on leaving Restore.