We currently have two funds to assist people at risk of homelessness because of housing-related debt, the Homelessness Prevention Fund and the Tenant Hardship Fund. If you are a tenant of Angus Council, an RSL, or a Private Landlord in the Angus area whose tenancy is at risk due to rent arrears please visit our website for more information.
Homlessness
Free family conflicts resolution training opportunity
FREE PARENT/CARER ‘Family Conflict Triggers’ training opportunity!
When: Tuesday 16 March 2021 (12:00-12:40)
Are you a parent or carer? ‘Family Conflict Triggers’ explores those little things that can escalate and cause conflict, and how to manage these. Following the session, you will be able to:
Recognise these (daily) triggers that have the potential to escalate within a family context, so you can address them more effectively or seek appropriate support
To register your FREE place, please use the Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution website
FREE YOUNG PEOPLE (16-25) ‘Anxious and Afraid’ training opportunity!
When: Thursday 18 March 2021 (12:00-12:40)
Are you a young person aged 16-25? Looking to learn more about conflict resolution? ‘Anxious and Afraid’ explores anxiety and stress. Following the session, you will be able to:
1. Relate to the emotional state of being anxious and afraid
2. Explore some of the science behind this state to improve individual wellbeing
To register your FREE place click here
Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution (SCCR) is a national resource centre promoting and supporting best practices in mediation, family conflict resolution and early intervention. Through our free events and resources, the SCCR aims to encourage young people, their families and organisations to develop conflict resolution skills to improve both relationships and life chances and ultimately reduce youth homelessness. We have created a series of conflict resolution training based on our normal face-to-face training but adapted for an online event. Each session is about 40 minutes long.
Sessions will be delivered on the online platform Zoom, by the SCCR trainer. If you book on to the session you will be sent the details on how to join nearer the time to the event when bookings have closed and a full PDF document with all the information you need to know will be emailed to you. This session is at an introductory level and no prior knowledge of the subject is required.
Angus Council also operates a mediation and conflict resolution service in partnership with Relationships Scotland. The service aims to prevent one or more members of a family from becoming homeless as a result of the conflict. It is open to all Angus residents and is free of charge. Referrals to the service can be used by following the Mediation and conflict resolution service website.
Temporary Restriction of New Social Tenancies – Private Landlords, Can You Help?
As a result of significant resource restrictions and the suspension of some repairs services, cleaning and furnishing services, we and our Housing Association partners have had to restrict letting of new social rented tenancies, including temporary homeless accommodation, during the coronavirus shutdown.
Due to these unprecedented and difficult circumstances, we have temporarily suspended all housing allocations with the exception of the following groups:
- Discharge from hospital where rehousing is required. This is a top priority to support the NHS.
- People who are roofless or at risk of rough sleeping
- People where there is a serious risk identified whether that be a risk of violence/abuse, including all forms of domestic abuse, or other protection measures are required
We continue to focus our efforts on trying to prevent people from becoming homeless and needing accommodation and are advising people who have been sofa-surfing or staying with friends and family that they follow the government guidance and remain living where they have been, where it is safe to do so. We are also working across our housing teams and partner housing providers to identify and furnish suitable accommodation.
We are looking for help from private landlords to provide private rented tenancies to individuals in the priority groups we have identified, and to work in partnership with us to identify suitable tenants from the priority groups for any properties that are available to let.
Where furnishings are required, and this is needed urgently and cannot be met any other way, we may be able to provide furniture and goods. Our housing staff will also be able to support the household to apply for financial help (if needed) to meet the rent and housing costs.
If you have a property or properties that are available to let and are able to support us to provide housing to these priority groups, please contact the following:
In Arbroath, Carnoustie or Monifieth – please email HouArbroathCHT@angus.gov.uk
In Brechin or Montrose – please email BrechinMontroseCHT@angus.gov.uk
In Forfar or Kirriemuir – please email ForfarCHT@angus.gov.uk
Your support and assistance is appreciated.
Do You Need Help to Manage Your Home? Contact the Homelessness Support Service.
If you need help to manage your home. It could be –
- getting benefits, budgeting and debt
- setting up and keeping your tenancy
- finding training, education or employment, or
- dealing with Council, NHS or other services
You could get help from the Homelessness Support Service – call ACCESSLine 03452 777778.
Engagement Plans for 2019/20 – How We Will Work with the Scottish Housing Regulator
As part of the changes introduced by the new Regulatory Framework, the Scottish Housing Regulator recently published an annual engagement plan for every Scottish social landlord.
The purpose of the annual engagement plans is to lay out:
- the information the Regulator wants from the landlord
- what the landlord needs to do
- how the Regulator will engage with the landlord
- why the Regulator is engaging, particularly if the landlord hasn’t met its regulatory requirements
- the Regulator’s member of staff who is the main contact for engaging with the landlord
The Regulator has a strong focus on how the social landlords deliver services for people who are or may become homeless. This is the main point of its engagement with local authorities including our own landlord services.
We need to provide the Regulator with the information related to our homelessness service. You can see full details of our Engagement Plan on the Scottish Housing Regulator website. You can find all Scottish social landlords’ Engagement Plans here.
Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan in Angus approved
A 5-year Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan was approved by Councillors in last week. As we mentioned in the previous post, Local Authorities, have been asked by the Scottish Government to work with local partners to bring forward a 5-year plan by December 2018.
This is a new policy to address homelessness more pro-actively; through prevention, by moving people through temporary accommodation quicker, and by improving the support they receive through better co-ordination.
Prevention will be the first priority, and that means directing resources to things such as mental health support, combating substance abuse, and helping prevent relationship breakdown. For those who do become homeless we will prioritise the allocation of our accommodation to them so that we can deliver the support they need to re-establish themselves quickly in the community. For that to happen we also need the help and understanding of the community.
We and our partners will also need to increase allocations to homeless households to 58% of all lets initially. So for us, out of the 800 changes of tenancy in the first year, we estimate that around 464 of those will be allocated to homeless households.
The main aim of the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan will be provide long-term housing provision for Angus citizens, at a time when they are most vulnerable.
This plan sets out how we in Angus can achieve that aim over the next 5 years. Successful implementation of the plan will result in:
- Increased focus on prevention, to reduce homeless applications
- Reduced the time it takes to process homeless cases
- Reduced time spent in temporary accommodation
- Reducing the number of temporary accommodation units and instead helping support people into permanent housing quicker
- Increasing tenancy sustainment
#ScottishHousingDay: Rapid Rehousing in Angus – a new approach to homelessness
Rapid Rehousing is a new approach to help those who experience homelessness.
Our Housing Service, along with Angus Health & Social Care Partnership and other housing providers and stakeholders, have started work to develop a 5 year Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan.
The Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) was set up by the Scottish Government in October 2017 to produce recommendations to end homelessness and rough sleeping.
70 detailed recommendations were published in June 2018 and set out a vision of an approach whereby prevention of homelessness is vital and the responsibility lies not just with local authorities but with all parts of the public sector.
When homelessness occurs, rapid rehousing should be the default position. Rapid rehousing is about making sure people who experience homelessness reach a settled housing option as quickly as possible rather than staying in temporary accommodation for too long.
The Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan in Angus
The Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan is a new planning system for local authorities and their partners to transition to a rapid rehousing approach.
Each Local Authority is required to develop their plans in partnership with stakeholders over a planned and costed phase of 5 years (2019/20 to 2023/24) by 31 December 2018.
We are currently running engagement sessions to develop the plan with the Angus Health & Social Care Partnership, Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), support agencies, communities teams and other partners.
Here are few photos from Monday’s awareness-raising session at the Webster Theatre in Arbroath:
Thinking of Moving Home? Find Out About Your Options First!
There are many options when you’re searching for a new home.
Our housing options wizard is an online tool to help you to find out all the housing options that are available for you.
The wizard asks you a series of questions, then gives you a list of the housing options which best suit your needs. It takes between 10 and 15 minutes to complete.
If social housing is one of your options, you can make an application.
For more information see our website.
Housing Options – Customer Satisfaction Survey – July, August & September
Please help us to improve our services by completing the new Housing Options survey – it will be available from now until September.
If you have met with one of our Housing Options officers to talk about your housing situation, please give us your opinions about our service by completing the survey.
Homeless or Rough Sleeping in Winter? We Can Help!
As temperatures drop, staying indoors becomes more desirable in winter. Rough sleeping and begging is rare in Angus towns but it does happen and we share concern for those members of our community who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Our Communities Convener, Cllr Craig Fotheringham said: “When we are aware of instances of rough sleeping or begging, our Housing Officers always approach the person and offer housing options advice and information, either in an outreach situation on the street, or in one of our ACCESS Offices or Libraries.”
He continued, “We will also direct them to other services we or our partners provide that may help them. Jointly we offer a swift, person-centred, housing-led response, to address what are often quite complex needs.”
We always provide advice and assistance. If you are concerned about someone who is begging or doesn’t have a place to stay, please advise them to go to any ACCESS Office or Library, or call ACCESSLine on 03452 777 778 to get advice on their circumstances.
Angus Council Housing News 