Published: 05/07/2021
COPELAND Council helped house 135 homeless individuals or families in the borough in the last year, new figures reveal.
A total of 449 people sought the council’s advice on housing and homelessness matters in 2020/21, and of the 135 who needed to be re-housed in the past 12 months, 103 have now moved into long-term accommodation.
The Housing and Homeless team works every day with individuals, families, support agencies and landlords to prevent people from having to leave their homes, and helps to find alternative accommodation for those that do have to leave.
Copeland Council goes over and above the statutory homeless service it is required to provide under housing legislation, offering additional discretionary services and specialist support, such as for those experiencing domestic abuse. Of the 449 who sought the council’s advice in 2020/21, 101 faced issues around domestic abuse and all were assisted by the council’s specialist Prevention and Crisis Support Officer.
One of the main reasons for under-24s becoming homeless is being asked to leave the family home by parents when their relationship has broken down. The council mediates with the parents and other family members, offering specialist support and linking them in with other agencies to provide back-up and help the family work on the relationship breakdown
Another reason for potential homelessness is threat of eviction due to breaches of tenancy. The council works with landlords to negotiate tenancy breaches, such as high levels of rent arrears, and to put payment plans in place. It also works with voluntary sector partners to help people access the practical help and support they need to manage their tenancies better, for example, benefits advice and debt management.
If the council cannot prevent someone having to leave their home, it helps people with choice-based lettings for social housing and matches people in need of accommodation with private sector landlords and helps them with rent deposits.
Councillor Andy Pratt, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Place and Inclusive Communities, said: “We pride ourselves on our homeless prevention work and, like a number of our services, this was put under immense pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Despite the challenges our own team was facing, we continued to offer an outstanding level of service to anyone who found themselves in need. We continued to offer a 24-hour-a-day service to support the most vulnerable people in our community, and responded to 134 out-of-hours calls over the past year to assist in emergency situations.
“Our message is that we are here to support people with their housing issues; please contact us early so we can assist and work with our external agencies and specialist providers, rather than a situation reaching the point of homelessness.
“If you find yourself in a domestic abuse situation, please contact us immediately. We have helped over 100 families leave an abusive home since we launched this support service and are here for you too.”
Copeland Council’s Housing and Homeless team can be contacted on 01946 598300 (available for emergencies 24-hours-a-day) or housing.options@copeland.gov.uk. Further information on the support services is available at www.copeland.gov.uk/homelessness
