Almost 450 people asked for help about homelessness in Copeland in the last 12 months, new figures reveal.
Copeland Council said 449 people sought its advice and of the 135 who needed to be rehoused, 103 have now moved into long-term accommodation.
The authority’s 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.
Of the 449 people, 101 faced issues around domestic abuse and all were assisted by the council’s specialist prevention and crisis support officer.
The council said 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 said it worked with landlords to negotiate tenancy breaches, such as high levels of rent arrears, and 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.
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 [email protected].
More information is available at www.copeland.gov.uk/homelessness
