Housing Support For Vulnerable People In Scarborough Borough

There's going to be housing support for vulnerable people in the Borough of Scarborough.

Just over £200,000 has been given to the Council from the Government's Next Steps Accommodation Programme.

The authority had originally put in a bid for £350,000 and an extra £100,000 every year for three years.

Carl Maw, Portfolio Holder for Stronger Communitie and Housing at Scarborough Borough Council, said:

"Although it's not quite what we bid for, it's better than many, many other local authorities.

"The money's going to be hugely welcome and will go someway in supporting the council's strategy in tackling rough sleeping. It'll help pay for services to create some interventions, in order to help those particularly vulnerable people.

"It's to concentrate on mainly on those rough sleeping.

"Rough sleeping are those that tend to sleep on the streets and each case of homelessness is a tragic case; it damages families, individuals and society as a whole but it's rough sleeping that really, really damages a person's health whether that's physical or mental.

"Homelessness isn't just those that are sleeping on the streets that we see; even if you've got a roof over your head, it doesn't particularly mean that you're homed.

"Basically if you're staying with your friends, in a hostel, B&Bs, squatting, risk of abuse or violence in your home, or if you live apart from your family because you dont have a place to live, that's homelessness.

"What's apparent, is amongst that group, there's a significant cohort of extremely vulnerable and mainly quite chaotic lifestyles. A lot of these have got underlying issues and these issues act as a barrier.

"So if we just popped the into a flat with no support whatsoever, the likelihood is a lot of them would end up rough sleeping again.

"It puts that barrier up, it excludes them from what we all see as normal. If you dont have a fixed address, you're going to find it dificult to get a job, it's going to be difficult to even claim benefits in order to get you into your own home.When you go to rough sleeping, that doubily amplifies.

"This isn't an issue we should be talking about in 2020, people without a home to live in, it's just not right for these days; and I don't just mean a house, I mean a home.

"A house is not the same as a home. A home at least offers you that bit of security. You have a feeling of belonging when you have a home."

Government Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Kelly Tolhurst MP, said:

"This funding will make a real difference to vulnerable peoples' lives in Yorkshire and the Humber, continuing to help them address complex needs, and to rebuild their lives, away from the streets in safer interim accommodation.

"I want to commend councils across the region along with their partners for the support they've provided so far.

"Together we are providing the essential support required that will help end rough sleeping and break the cycle of homelessness."