She has slept in shop doorways, unsavoury hostels, grotty B&B’s and once on a bench in a police station and if you ask her where she’d be now without ROCSOLID she doesn’t hesitate to say: “Probably dead.” This young woman is now a trainee manager.
Dot Butler, former award-winning journalist, and Derek Butler, property investor, launched ROCSOLID in 2007. The couple had bought Reach Out Care Fostering Services and Reach Out Care Support Services, both based in Newton Aycliffe, in 2005. This week they celebrate their tenth year bringing hope to young people.
Dot said: “We were dismayed to see what had happened to a teenage girl who had been in foster care with our agency… her local authority moved her on into unsuitable accommodation when she turned 18 and without the right support, she committed quite a serious offence.
“As a result she was placed in a secure residential unit in another part of the country. Our social workers went to visit her – they felt all the good work done by our foster carers had been undermined.
“So we thought … what if we had been able to provide her with a nice quality flat with good, ongoing support in an area she was familiar with. And that was when we decided to launch ROCSOLID.”
“It was at that exact time that Hope House in Burnhope became available. The premises were ideal so we bought them, refitted the existing eight flats, initially just for care leavers, and created good quality office spaces for our businesses in the single storey section
“We had many meetings with the local authority to secure ‘Supporting People’ funding but the goalposts kept moving – in the end we decided to go ahead on our own and started off with one teenage girl.”
The registered charity, which works with local authorities and partners across the region, now offers accommodation in approximately 50 flats and houses in Newton Aycliffe and Teesside. Two of their bases, including Hope House, are staffed 24/7. In the past 10 years they have given supported accommodation to 315 clients plus, in many instances, their partners and children.
ROCSOLID has 14 employees – its Operations Manager Mandy Shaw has been with the charity since its inception. The charity has Investing in Children accreditation.
Every client must be homeless/at risk of homelessness/ or living in unsuitable accommodation and have a vulnerability including leaving care, complex needs, mental health issues, substance and alcohol misuse, at risk of sexual exploitation, pregnant and vulnerable.
Referrals come from a wide range of partners, including leaving care teams, probation services, Centrepoint and other housing providers. The charity has also provided accommodation to people rescued from human trafficking via Hope for Justice.
Every client has an individual support plan which includes issues such as staying safe, daily living skills, debt management, budgeting, citizenship, behaviour management and moving on to fully independent living.
“We have seen many, many people go on to live successful lives independent of the charity,” said Dot. “But some clients are too vulnerable to live totally independent lives and they need our ongoing support.
“Some young parents have worked hard to learn the skills and behaviours they need to have children returned to them from local authority care. We worked with a single dad to achieve them same thing a few years ago. Safeguarding is always our no 1 priority.
“We are very grateful for all the support we have enjoyed from our trustees, our local newspaper The Newton News, individuals in Newton Aycliffe, Harvest Christian Centre, Tesco, King’s Church in Darlington and other funders – we are the proud owners of a new minibus and furniture van!
“We get excellent official feedback from a wide range of partners, such as local authority social workers, “ said Derek. “And it’s all down to the skills, expertise and passion of our amazing team. They are always going the extra mile to support the many people who nestle in our branches at ROCSOLID.”
Photo above: Dot & Derek Butler (centre) with the Mayor Wendy Hillary, her Consort Jed and Staff of Rocsolid
Cutting the 10th year Celebration Cake
