Our Plans that are the basis of our Residential Support Care
WISE GUYS COMMUNITY HOUSING PROJECT
Wise Guys newest venture is our Community Housing Project. We call this our Wise Guys CHP for short. This Project is focused on getting men’s lives back in order / back on track & by giving them the guidance needed to work & live together in a safe environment, taught necessary life skills, compassion, comradery & with the aim of getting our residents back with family & new friends again in time.
ABOUT WISE GUYS
We were established because there are very few, if any, support services available for vulnerable men in New Zealand.
Just as women sometimes need support to effect behavior change, recover from trauma, rebuild lives and achieve peace, so too do men. We work together to help achieve personal goals.
Our Residential Program along with our sister Community Housing Project can accommodate around 40 individuals.
TOGETHER WE CAN
We’re a last resort and first step to rebuilding life when events overcome you and you’re without a home. We can accommodate you in an Emergency & are an Emergency Housing Provider so when life, stress, family or relationship breakdowns leave you homeless and unemployed. Working together we can help you regain control over life, or an inability to cope with relationships and everyday situations.
We’ll help you pick up the pieces and rebuild your life, teaching you life skills, training and support in a non-judgmental environment to get you back on track again. We are run by Trained Professionals and others who have been where you are and have come through it.
Getting back on track may not be easy – but working together we can help you do it. So if you, or someone you know, wants to get more out of life when every day has become a challenge, Contact Us.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
We offer: Life Skills training and Emergency Housing Accommodation (one on one counseling can be arranged with a trained Counselor) .
But life is also about living and being independent. That’s why we have activities such as gardening, going fishing (from time to time), handyman and social events – that make life start to become & feel normal again.
It’s always been our firm belief, that reliable ongoing community support services could be provided on a client funded basis without the need of special additional government funding. The together strong principle of organic communal learning through shared joint experiences is the result, and our business model reflects this. i.e. all of our services are paid for by way of income derived from residents accommodation payments.
The idea is to bring men back into life through positive memory making events such as going fishing, making gardens etc. Along with problem solving / team building activities that have been around for a long time here at Wise Guys and defines everything we do from team building for shopping trips or making the decision to fend for themselves etc, all behavior (decisions) bring with it inherent learning opportunities. Our Facilitators, or Volunteer crew members are always close by to lend a hand and help residents make a learning, both positive and negative count here, as the wrong communal or individual decisions can often lead to undesirable results, leading to new learnings etc.
Over time residents learn that working together improves their lives and that fending for themselves often does not work out so well. It is our aim to teach new communal behavior patterns that equip residents with the necessary tools and encourages a deeper understanding of the importance of working and learning together.
To foster growth in general Wise Guys the Men’s Group Ltd provides help like that listed below:
USER PAYS BUSINESS MODEL = WE ARE NOT A CHARITY
Wise Guys Projects & Plans
- Supported Communal Living: This plan is specifically designed for someone who is wanting to live long term in a safe and community minded environment, rather than being living alone and unprotected in a Boarding House
- Ongoing Wellness: This plan is specifically designed for those wishing to continue to live a life of fun & occasional fishing are just some of the ways we can help you ease back into life.
- Bridging / Tie Over / Emergency Housing: This plan is specifically designed for someone who is seeking temporary safe accommodation until they get a more permanent housing situation.
- Life Skills: This plan is specifically designed for someone who, wishes to learn the art of communal living and is seeking to learn vital life skills to help in later life.
- Mild Mental Health: This plan is specifically designed for someone who is currently under mental health or has a mental health support worker visiting on a regular basis, but is seeking a more communal experience to life, able to access all normal services and participate in life with like minded residents in a similar situation to you.
- Wellness: This plan is specifically designed for someone who, is for whatever reason in life seeking time out and a place to live in the company of others, also seeking peace. There’s nothing like living in a rural situation to get away from it all. We can offer relaxed living & a some of our houses have rural outlooks as well. What more could someone want.
- Hospital Exit: This plan is specifically designed for someone who, has found himself in hospital with no valid exit address due to current life stresses and wishes to get his life back on track. We can arrange a pickup with you on occasions, provide you with clothing on occasions , (you’d be surprised how many men we have had arriving in hospital gowns in the past) a warm bed, your own room and generally a place to heal and eventually return back to life, in the meantime we will help you organize your GP visits, take you to all your WINZ, CADS, INTERNAL AFFAIRS etc, in short we help you get to any service you require to heal and get a fresh NEW Start.
Our latest Projects
Wise Guys newest venture is our Community Housing Project. We call this our Wise Guys CHP for short.
The Wise Guys Community Housing Project provides innovative, specialized housing and support services for people living with mild mental illness, addictions and other challenges. By designing programs based on research, assessment, evaluation, and implementation of best practices, the Wise Guys CHP is leading the way in developing solutions to end homelessness.
The Wise Guys CHP family of programs includes Emergency Housing, transitional housing, long term housing, food services and community living support.
Many of the Wise Guys CHP Housing programs operate from a low barrier, housing first perspective – meaning that we require that people meet certain standards of behavior, or are compliant with mild mental health issues, to receive services and housing support from us. Instead, we welcome them to a community of people experiencing similar challenges. It is all part of our programs to help change things.
Housing First
The Wise Guys CHP has been a leader in developing a ‘Housing First’ approach with its clients, providing supported housing to those with mild challenging behaviors and no psychiatric treatment links or medication use.
Our Wise Guys CHP is unique in our ‘Housing First’ philosophy, as the majority of the current supported housing programs in Auckland require that applicants achieve a substantial measure of “housing readiness” before they can access the housing.
Typically this means the client must be stable, linked with treatment services, have minimal levels of challenging behavior, and whilst this is also true with us in the long run, in order for a client to remain with us long term, it is not part of our intake criteria. Having said that we do insist on a drug /alcohol and violent free house and will evict house guest found threatening individuals or the general peace of the house. Harm Reduction Policy applies.
By providing services to those who are not considered ‘housing ready’ by other organizations, the Wise Guys CHP has been successful in breaking the cycles of chronic homelessness, instability for our clients by providing assertive interventions.
The goal is not simply to get people off the streets but to provide a comprehensive array of supports that assist people in achieving stability which allows them to move forward with their lives. By providing housing and support in a client-centered environment, and Wise Guys CHP engages clients to create an atmosphere of trust where opportunities for change can be discovered.
We have seen that with the right supports and opportunities, people will choose health and stability and to move towards a better life for themselves.
We believe, that the current Wise Guys Community Housing Project “Housing First” programs make an effective and necessary contribution to the health of people living in communities in south Auckland areas.
The Wise Guys Community Housing Project provides temporary shelter for people living on the streets, who are living with mental illness or have experienced trauma in their lives.
Clients are able to stay longer than at most shelters, which gives us time to help residents access appropriate support services based on their individual needs and circumstances. An average the length of stay with us can range from 28 days to 6 months with some residents deciding to live on site for a number of years is also not uncommon.
Referrals are accepted from individuals themselves, hospitals, community service providers, health-care practitioners, WINZ workers the CAB and other local shelters.
Every client / house guest / resident gets their own room / space which is a unique feature of the Wise Guys CHP. We can house around 40 people.
If you know someone who is in need of assistance please do not hesitate to contact the Wise Guys Community Housing Project for further information, on 0800494734 & we’re open 7 days a week or visit our website on www.08004wiseguys.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/wiseguysmens/
Wise Guys The Men’s Group Ltd pride ourselves in providing help, support, companionship & all else that becomes “HELPING TO GET YOUR LIFE BACK ON TRACK”