MHASS stands for Mental Health Accommodation Support Service. It is a two worker service that provides housing-related support to people using secondary mental health services. There are several key referrers, including the Assertive Outreach Service and Home Treatment, likely to refer clients who need support with their accommodation.

Some clients will have housing but need help to keep their tenancy; some will have accommodation but need to move; others may not have their own accommodation. MHASS will look at the person's accommodation needs and work with them to identify relevant options. In some cases, the MHASS worker will be able to help explore these; in other cases existing support staff or other housing workers will be able to help.

Main referrers for MHASS include:

• AOS (Assertive Outreach Service)
• HTT (Home Treatment Team)
• CFT (Community Forensic Team)
• CSRT (Community Support & Recovery Team)

MHASS can work with about 40 people at any time but always carries an existing caseload. It tries to respond quickly to referrals but supports many people who will need the service for several months. Support can be for shorter periods but it isn't purely a housing advice service.

Clients who can use mainstream services, such as those at Midland House provided by the Council, are encouraged to do so. MHASS aims to work with clients and referrers where more support is needed. This might mean looking at supported accommodation, advocating for social housing or helping people move into private rented accommodation.