Single people left out when seeking housing assistance

Single people across England are being overlooked from their local councils when it comes to getting help. Those that are homeless are not a priority when it comes to placement into temporary accommodations or when seeking assistance for local deposit schemes or other benefits. Councils are overlooking young people and even given them bad advice, and it doesn’t matter whether they are victims of domestic violence or threatened by some some other exceptional hardship.

Several people from Crisis, which is a leading charity which focuses on homelessness in England, dropped in at or called local councils centres seeking help for their housing needs. These individuals were mystery shoppers, so the staff from a local council did not know they were conducting a study on behalf of Crisis. The results of this showed that the young, homeless people are not getting the support they need. In fact, almost 60% of them did not receive assistance that addressed their hardship.

In London, there were 29 visits done by young people who claimed to be homeless. In each case, the mystery shopper was given very little advice from the council. Some of the undercover representatives from Crisis even claimed to be victims of domestic violence, and many were still turned away. In total, almost 90 authorities across England had a mystery shopper drop in. The results of each visit were mostly the same, and the results show that young people are not a priority and are being left out.

What is being told to these young homeless people is that individuals with a disability are a higher priority. Or councils are also prioritizing any help from rent deposit schemes or space in a shelter to families with children. Not only are they not receiving accommodations or financial aid, but many also are not even getting advice from the local authorities.

Some of the mystery shoppers from Crisis were being turned away because they could not prove they were homeless, however a victim of domestic violence may not be able to do this. They may have a home, but it is just not safe. So these young people, most of which are women, still should be entitled to housing.

Councils do not have staff or resources

Councils just do not have the resources or funding to assist all that need it, and so they are turning individuals away, and these happen to be young people that have no place to go. With the reduction in other benefits occurring across England, it is a struggle to assist all people of every age.

Also, some authorities were not treating young people with consideration. There was reported cases, including in London, or lack of empathy and no confidentiality. Some people were even given bad information on requirements to receive help from a council, and this can be caused by a lack of training due to resources. So there are many problems.

This approach is not what the 1996 Housing Act called for though. All individuals that are homeless, whether in priority need or not, are entitled to advice and to get an assessment done. They should also be allowed to apply for financial aid too, even though there are no guarantees. So it appears that many authorities are not following the government act.