ANTI-social families on the verge of eviction are to be rehabilitated in "sin bin" units in Bolton in an attempt to change their behaviour. Joanne Rowe looks at how the same scheme is working in a Scottish city.

A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to rehabilitate anti-social families was met with a storm of protest when the idea was first proposed in Dundee.

The initiative, which Bolton is hoping to emulate with its own Bolton Families Project, was bitterly opposed in the Scottish city in 1994 when it was revealed where the "sin bin" unit was to be sited.

But complaints from local people about three of the area's worst families being housed on their doorstep abated once the scheme was up and running and now it has been hailed by experts as a great success in changing behaviour and improving lives.

The city's housing convener, Jill Shimi, speaking at a conference in Dundee, described the project as "a gamble that paid off".

"The families project was a gamble, not without difficulties or great opposition," she said.

"We did overcome that. The project itself is not, unfortunately, a panacea for all the ills of society.

"It has had its failures as well as successes, but we feel this is a gamble which has paid off."

Since it became fully operational in 1997 the scheme, run in partnership with charity NCH Scotland, has helped more than 80 families who were in danger of being evicted.

The imaginative scheme has received praise from the Government which describes it as a model of how to deal with some nuisance neighbours.

And Bolton is one of the first in the country to follow its example and set up a similar project.

Neighbouring Manchester City Council will be the first to follow the lead, with its residential Families Project unit due to open in spring next year. Bolton hopes to have its unit, capable of housing up to five families, up and running by October 2004.

Like Dundee, Bolton officers acknowledge the sticking point could come when they identify the area where the residential unit will be placed.

"Due to the nature of the work of the project the location of the accommodation is likely to be a sensitive issue," says a report to councillors.

A short list of locations is currently being drawn up and the council hopes to consult the community early next year prior to submitting a planning application in May.

When the St Mary's area of Dundee was first earmarked for its project local people were up in arms, campaigning against the scheme and raising petitions.

In an attempt to alleviate some of their concerns the council set up an advisory committee with the majority of members coming from the community, to discuss the way the scheme would operate.

People were assured that no drug or alcohol abuse, violence or anti-social behaviour would be tolerated from families placed in the unit.

All families taking part in the project do so voluntarily in a bid to avoid eviction, but anyone breaking the scheme's rules are thrown out.

Despite the protests from local people the residential unit opened in 1997 and a year later the Dundee Evening Telegraph reported that the streets around the unit were "quiet, if not quieter, than most others on the estate".

Even those who had been fiercely opposed to the unit opening conceded it had caused no real problems.

The Bolton project is expected to cost £600,000 to set up, all of which can be met from outside grants.

But the £547,000 a year it will cost to run cannot all be found from external funding and Bolton Council faces having to find £50,000 to £110,000 towards the bill.

The Bolton project is larger than that running in Dundee and although those proposing the scheme acknowledge 24 hour intensive support for those families in the residential unit is expensive, they say that in the long term it can be cost effective due to savings in legal proceedings, dealing with homelessness and providing residential care for children or foster places.

Like Dundee, Bolton's scheme will be managed by NCH and aims to break a vicious cycle of bad behaviour which some families fall into, leading to repeated evictions, unstable family life and misery for their neighbours.

Dundee's Jill Shimi says several families in their city have now been successfully re-integrated into the community, with children who were once playing truant now regularly attending school and skills having been learned to encourage their parents to be good neighbours.

"Not all families are worthless and beyond redemption," she said.

Most of the families taken on to the scheme are facing eviction and all need to show a commitment to changing their behaviour before being accepted on to the project. Many see it as the last chance for them and their children.

Typical problems which have led to their eviction threat include noise, particularly at night, out of control children, aggressive behaviour and sometimes drink or drug troubles.

There are three different elements to the project.

A residential unit to help families with the most difficult anti-social behaviour. Up to three families live in self contained flats within the unit with round the clock support.

Anger management and parenting skills are taught as well as cookery classes and domestic budgeting. For those who need it there is also alcohol and drugs counselling.

Families stay there for between four and 12 months and there are strict rules, including 11pm curfews, regular flat checks and alarm calls to ensure children are taken to school on time.

Twelve flats dispersed throughout Dundee where families are still supported by the project, but less intensively. These flats are mostly used by families ready to move on from the residential unit.

A preventative outreach service to provide early intervention and help families at risk of eviction. Staff work with these families either in their own homes or at a project base.