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12.
January
2018.
Supporting people, supporting independence

Supporting people, supporting independence

 

Cardiff's priorities for preventing homelessness and supporting some the most vulnerable people in the city to live independently have been unveiled.

 

The council's Supporting People Programme local delivery plan for 2018/19 outlines how the authority will spend more than £16m of grant funding from the Welsh Government to provide housing-related support to people in Cardiff.

 

The programme contributes to the Council's delivery of services such as homeless hostels, domestic violence refuges, supported accommodation, support in a person's own home, and community alarm and warden services.

 

Cardiff's supporting people plan focuses help on those facing a housing crisis, with particular emphasis on helping the most vulnerable individuals. Proposed spend includes:

 

  • £3.47m on homeless services including hostels

  • £2.3m on support to prevent homelessness

  • £2.05m on young people with support needs and care leavers

  • £1.25m for Women at risk of domestic abuse

  • £1.45m for people with substance misuse issues (drugs and alcohol)

  • £1.86m for young people with support needs

 

The local delivery plan outlines how intensive support services to help rough sleepers such as the Housing First Project providing mainstream accommodation for rough sleepers and the Compass Project providing intensive support to entrenched rough sleepers, are making progress and these will continue to be funded in 2018/19.

 

There will be increased spend relating to support for women at risk of domestic abuse to reflect the need for more preventative work as well as provision for men who are victims of domestic abuse, investment in support services for families and vulnerable individuals to move into the private rented sector.

 

The plan also highlights the need to assist young people who experience issues with accessing employment or training and the growing impact of welfare reform changes on younger people. A youth mentoring service, which will complement the Council's new employment service due to start in April, will help target the most vulnerable and help young people into work.

 

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: "The Supporting People Programme plays a significant part in the Council's work to prevent homelessness by funding schemes that provide people with the help they need to live independently in their own homes and in doing so, helping to reduce demands on other services such as health and social services.

 

"As a capital city, we have additional housing pressures which often makes prevention more difficult including the shortage of social housing and demand on private sector accommodation. But we are addressing this through innovative housing projects and by building new social housing, with a target of 1,000 new council homes over the next five years.

 

"We have always taken a proactive approach to tackling homelessness and a great deal of work goes into preventing people becoming homeless. Our Housing Options service works closely with households to explore a range of options and services available to them to prevent them losing their homes and so far this year, we have successfully prevented homelessness in 440 cases.

 

"The plan also focuses on our work with the street homeless and with an unprecedented increase in the number of people sleeping out in the city, it's vital that we ensure we continue to invest in our services that provide assistance for individuals who sleep rough, many of whom have extremely complex needs and require intensive support.

 

"Underpinning this plan is our commitment to delivering the best housing outcomes for people in Cardiff, ensuring that our services address their needs and they are able to engage with the provision available.

 

"Our Supporting People programme focuses in the main on preventing and alleviating homelessness, overall the council spends more than £17 million pounds on services to prevent and address homelessness."

 

The Supporting People local delivery plan will be considered by Cabinet on Thursday, January 18, along with recommissioning arrangements for a number of housing-related support services.