Chorley takes the lead in addressing 'hidden homeless' issue (From Chorley Citizen)

Chorley takes the lead in addressing 'hidden homeless' issue

8:00am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News

Chorley is to take the lead in addressing the issue of Lancashire’s “hidden homeless” single people after £500,000 of funding was granted.

The Lancashire-wide scheme to support homeless people has seen Chorley Council selected by the Government to lead the programme that covers 14 districts.

The aim is to ensure single people, to which councils do not owe a statutory duty to provide accommodation, get the help they need to have a roof over the head and prevent them from sleeping rough.

It is proposed the project includes an emergency accommodation finding service for those who may have been sleeping rough and access to rental bonds to secure a rented home.

Other measures which will be rolled out include a database to match homeless single people with landlords, a ‘house mates’ scheme where applicants who are looking to share accommodation are linked together, and a private landlord support package to encourage landlords to offer accommodation to people who are at risk of being homeless.

Councillor Adrian Lowe, who oversees housing and homelessness at Chorley Council, said: “Homelessness is not just about people sleeping on the streets but also about those who have nowhere to call home and are maybe sleeping on someone’s sofa.

“Although this is specifically aimed at single people we do have lots of other services available such as the drop-in sessions for 16 and 17-year-olds who may be having problems at home and are considering moving out without the financial support needed to get a place of their home.

“Our aim is to make sure as many people as possible have a place they can call home as no-one should have to spend a night sleeping rough on the streets and hopefully this scheme will go some way towards supporting that.”

The proposals will go before the council’s executive cabinet meeting tonight for approval.