Gentoo has signed a three-year contract with Chelmer Housing on behalf of the Essex Housing Officers Group to provide its Streetwise software to log instances of domestic abuse and provide early interventions for victims and families across Essex.
Streetwise is a case management system that helps protect communities and improve lives by using existing data to provide a comprehensive view of a customer’s circumstances, so the most appropriate person-centred support and interventions can be put in place.
Designed in-house by Gentoo, Streetwise has two modules, an anti-social behaviour module for people on the front-line to manage ASB and pinpoint where support is needed, and a domestic abuse module to support staff when dealing with cases of domestic abuse. Both modules provide a controlled way to record incidents, actions, interventions and the measures taken to support victims and deal with perpetrators.
Over 20 providers in Essex are using the Streetwise domestic abuse module to share information across multiple providers. During the first six months of the project, more than 1,000 serious cases of domestic abuse have been logged.
For example, when a customer presented herself as homeless to the reception of one housing provider with her partner, the staff member noticed that she looked shaken and was bruised. When staff checked the Essex-wide Streetwise system, they found information from another provider advising that there was an ongoing support case open.
Seeing this information allowed the member of staff to check the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) notes in a just a few minutes. As a result of this quick action, the housing process was stopped and further support offered to the victim.
Terri Cochrane, assistant director of housing management, Chelmer Housing Partnership, said, “We are one year into the project and although getting everyone on board has not been without its teething problems, the case management system has provided us with the opportunity to improve the safety of our tenants and others in the county. Sharing information can be a tricky issue but by having a common goal and clear outcomes, our partners have developed different ways of working to assist victims of domestic abuse.”
