Homeless Women Turned Away

Local councils struggling to meet the demand for emergency housing are turning away vulnerable homeless women, including domestic violence victims and those with mental health issues as well as those fleeing domestic abuse, an investigation has found. Across several local authorities in England and Wales women found themselves turned away without being properly assessed or being able to make a homeless application despite qualifying for emergency accommodation under government guidelines.  An experiment by Channel 4’s Dispatches found that out of 15 approaches made by women with priority needs, only four were successful.  Read more on the Independent website.

London Council Now Has No Families with Children in B&Bs

Hammersmith & Fulham council has bucked a London trend by having no local families with children in emergency housing in bed & breakfasts – for the first time in more than four years. The news is a major result for the council, which has regularly been forced to turn to expensive B&B landlords to help house local families in need. The council has worked hard to find alternative housing for families with children and have been successful in helping many families move directly into temporary accommodation. While far from ideal, it provides a better environment for families than B&Bs and is much less expensive. Read more on 24dash.

Families Forced To Live In One-Bedroom Emergency Homes

A shocking 195 Dover families were forced to live in cramped conditions in emergency housing with just one room last year, the Express can reveal. The number has risen dramatically since 2013, when 124 homeless families were crammed into single-room bed and breakfasts or hostels.  Critics argue it underscores a chronic social housing shortage in Dover and a distinct lack of affordable housing. A Freedom of Information request by the Express reveals the number of parents and children living in emergency housing has rocketed by 61 per cent in the past four years. Since 2011/12, the number has jumped from 138 families to a worrying 211 in 2014/15. Read more on the Dover Express website.

Homeless? Here, Have A Tent...

It all sounds pretty desperate: but there's a Coalition-era logic to Isle of Wight council's decision to offer a homeless 62 year old pensioner a voucher to enable her to buy a tent, by way of helping to find her somewhere to live.

The council made its unusual offer after rejecting Dawn Martin's application for help with emergency housing. Martin was deemed not vulnerable enough to be formally accepted as homeless, so she was directed to the council's local welfare assistance scheme.  At this point, officials offered Martin a food voucher and a voucher to buy a tent. The council said in a statement:

‘During our discussions with her we did - as a last resort which we accept is far from ideal - offer her vouchers with which she could, at the very least, buy a tent as a temporary shelter but she declined this.’  Read more on the Guardian website.