Youth homelessness prevention services provided by Stirling Council and partner organisations
Joint working protocols
Through partnership working the Housing Service has recognised that young people face many issues when presenting as homeless and at the start of a tenancy, as a result protocols have been developed to ease these processes.
The Housing Service along with Children's Services, Throughcare and Aftercare recognised that they each had a corporate parenting role in relation to young people leaving the care of the authority. Previously young people leaving care faced the prospect of accessing housing though presenting as homeless. The Council recognised that young people were instantly being labelled with the stigma of homelessness.
In 2004 The 'Protocol on Looked After Children and Housing' was developed so that young people leaving local authority care were no longer categorised as homeless in order to gain priority status for housing. Instead, Children's Services in partnership with others provide a detailed assessment of the young persons housing needs both in the short and long term. Suitable interim accommodation is identified and tailored to the young person's needs where they are not immediately ready to take on a tenancy on leaving care. Where it is assessed that a young person is ready to take on a tenancy the young person will be matched to the most suitable property available, or the first that becomes available that meets the individual's needs.
Housing Support Plans are agreed and in place before the young person moves from care to ensure that the tenancy is sustained. The Youth Housing Liaison Group oversees the Protocol.
To provide an enhanced service to young people that fall into rent arrears, the local housing teams notify the Team Leader of Loretto Care of young tenants between 16 and 25 that are in arrears of more than £200. The Youth Housing Support Workers then attempt to engage with these tenants. It is worth noting that housing staff will have attempted contact as part of the Councils arrears procedures and this is an additional service aimed at reducing homelessness.
