Gloucester Offer to focus on earlier intervention for families at risk of homelessness

If agreed at tomorrow's cabinet meeting, the council will introduce the early intervention service, which will see a larger focus on prevention, as well as helping those who are homeless.

Homelessness is a traumatic experience and impacts physical and mental health, disrupting employment and children’s education. It can also affect relationships with family, friends and the community.

Currently the council offers some services to help people at threat of homelessness including rent in advance and deposit payments.

It works with landlords to settle rent arrears and prevent possession proceedings, as well as intervening where relations have broken down between tenant and landlord.

The Gloucester Offer would build on the current system and aim to launch a Tenancy Relations Service that would provide a dedicated resource for private tenants and landlords to seek advice.

There would also be a Mediation Service introduced to help resolve disputes and work with both families and single tenants. 

Tenants would be advised on where to get help with energy costs and where to receive trauma counselling, which can help to prevent future homelessness.

The council would also introduce home visits to work with people in the community face to face, to improve outcomes.

Prevention of homelessness reduces the need for temporary accommodation, which is limited and expensive, and means officer time can be spent on improving services.

Councillor Luke Shervey, Cabinet Member for Housing at Gloucester City Council, said: “Homelessness is an incredibly disruptive and traumatic experience for those affected, particularly children. It can affect their health and mental health, with long term consequences for their well-being and even life expectancy. If we can work with people early on and prevent them having to go through that in the first place, we can hopefully avoid these negative effects as well as the shame and stigma associated with being made homeless. This not only helps them but reduces costs to the council that can be spent on improving and expanding our services to help more people.”