Reflecting on five years of Transition and Resettlement Support service

Posted on 1 April 2026

After five years, Southdown’s Transition and Resettlement (T&R) Housing Support service has come to an end. As the funding for the service closes, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what the team built, and the difference it made.

The Transition and Resettlement team supported hundreds of people to move on from homelessness into more independent living across Brighton and Hove. Beyond direct support, they helped shift how move-on is approached across the local system, building strong working relationships with partners and influencing practice in housing and homelessness services citywide.

Feedback from commissioners reflects that broader impact. The service is described as having offered consistent, high-quality support and guidance for people progressing from supported accommodation, and the team’s reputation among partners and colleagues has been consistently strong.

For the team, this moment carries real weight. Team Managers Ellie and Lindsay described it as “the end of an era”, reflecting not just the closure of T&R but the end of many years of providing housing support in Brighton and Hove between them.

“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a team over the last five years,” they said. “Whilst it is hard to say goodbye to the T&R service, we leave a lasting legacy,  the positive impact we have had on the lives of the individuals we have supported, and on the homelessness sector in Brighton and Hove as a whole, will continue.”

The highlights of their work are stories of hundreds of people who were supported to move on from homelessness – including one person who, after years without a settled home, had an oven for the first time and was able to cook for friends and family he had reconnected with. Alongside individual stories, the team developed and delivered the ‘Navigating Move-On and the Private Rented Sector’ workshop, rolled out to clients and workers across the city. One service described it as “comprehensive, informative and accessible – clear and concise but also delivered with warmth and compassion.”

The team also built genuinely collaborative relationships with council teams which helped shift attitudes towards the private rented sector among both workers and clients across supported accommodation and homelessness services.

At the heart of it all has been the team itself. Rah Bray, Head of Mental Health and Housing Support says: “We are so grateful for all the brilliant colleagues – past and present – that we have had the pleasure to work alongside. We are so impressed by their consistent compassion and dedication, showing up for their clients and each other each and every day.”

Many team members are continuing their journeys within Southdown, taking their experience and values into new roles.

This is also an opportunity to recognise Lindsay Jordan, who leaves Southdown as the service closes after 24 years with the organisation. Neil Blanchard, our Chief Executive paid tribute to her contribution: “At Southdown, Lindsay has made a lasting contribution, not just through the quality of her work, but through the way she has supported colleagues, built strong teams, and kept a clear focus on what matters most for the people we support. She is someone who has led with integrity, warmth, and a strong sense of purpose, and that has had a real impact on both colleagues and clients.”

“While we are sorry to see her leave, we are incredibly grateful for everything she has given to Southdown over many years and wish her every success and happiness for what comes next.”