Supporting people who are homeless
Statutory homelessness
The service accepted more households as statutorily homeless under a Main Duty in 2021/22 than in the previous year. The number of households accepted under a main duty increased from 722 in 2020/21 (5.0 households per 1000) to 800 in 2021/22 (5.5 households per 1000).
More homelessness cases prevented and relieved
The service accepted more households as statutorily homeless under a Main Duty in 2021/22 than in the previous year. The number of households accepted under a main duty increased from 722 in 2020/21 (5.0 households per 1000) to 800 in 2021/22 (5.5 households per 1000).
More homelessness cases prevented and relieved
Despite a 14% increase in case demand on homelessness prevention and relief services in 2021/2022 compared with 2020/2021, the Council delivered the same percentage successful case outcomes, obtaining secured accommodation for 1167 households, compared with 1083 in the previous year and against an annual target of 1150.
Due to the increase and projected further increase in demand for homelessness support in 2022/2023, the Council has invested in additional frontline resources to support more residents facing homelessness issues and have revised and uplifted contracts for delivering additional support with providers, including The Salvation Army, St Basils, and P3 Charity, for households which are not eligible for a statutory homeless duty.
Meeting the needs of more complex cases facing homelessness issues
Launched as a pilot initiative in April 2021, the aim of the Vulnerable Persons Forum (VPF) is to provide a more joined up multi-service intervention to support more complex cases who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The forum is facilitated by a Council employed VPF co-ordinator and made up from a range of specialist service providers supporting Coventry residents who can refer cases in and meet monthly to review them.
The average duration of the intervention is three months and normally involves around five different specialist services supporting households facing homelessness along with mental health, drug misuse, domestic abuse, physical health, or disability issues, or in contact with the criminal justice system.
In the first fourteen months of operations, 98 clients have been supported by the initiative, with 88% of discharged cases being reported as having an improved status for securing accommodation following the intervention. Learning from the pilot is being used to inform improved provision for the most complex and hardest to resolve homelessness cases.
The Council, as part of their Housing and Homelessness Strategy, has also been increasing the provision of fully supported temporary accommodation for single homeless people with complex issues to help them break the cycle of living in unsettled accommodation or rough seeping, including the new recently purchased and refurbished property on Holyhead Road, which is housing and supporting up to 26 single homeless people at any one time.
Since the start of the pandemic more than 300 homeless people who were moved into emergency shelter have been moved into more suitable accommodation including flats, house shares and live-in support schemes.