Wokingham Borough Council set to approve updated homelessness strategy
Wokingham Borough Council’s decision-making executive is set to approve a new homelessness strategy later this month.
The new Wokingham strategy would build on the success of its predecessor, which was adopted in 2003 and has helped reduce the number of homeless people in the borough each year since. As with its predecessor, the main aims of the strategy will be to prevent homelessness wherever possible and to address the needs of anybody for whom homelessness cannot be prevented.
The Council’s draft strategy for preventing Wokingham homelessness focuses on providing good advice, information and flexible help to those in danger of becoming homeless as well increasing the availability of affordable housing. Some of the initiatives that have been set up include a mediation service for families in which young people are in danger of being forced from the family home, the publication of a range of housing advice leaflets and reorganising the housing needs team to provide greater focus on homelessness prevention.
The Council has also introduced Rent-in-Advance and Rent Deposit schemes to give a helping hand to people who need it when they are renting a home.
The new strategy sets out to expand and develop these and other initiatives already under way as well as to introduce new methods of preventing homelessness.
Among these improvements envisaged by the strategy are to collect and study customer feedback from people who have been in contact with the housing needs team, to establish links with an independent financial advice centre to enable referrals for debt advice and to increase publicity to improve residents’ awareness of housing rights.
If approved, the effectiveness of the strategy would be evaluated by a newly created homelessness strategy forum.
Wokingham Borough Council leader Cllr David Lee said: “With the current uncertainty in the housing market and the economy, more people will be in danger of becoming homeless in the next few years – so this strategy is coming at an opportune time. Prevention is the key to our strategy because it is better for all concerned to stop people becoming homeless than to try to help them once they are homeless. Our current strategy has been successful in reducing the number of homeless people in the borough and it is right to review that now in order to ensure further success in the future.”
The strategy will be discussed by the council’s decision-making executive committee on Thursday September 25.
The new Wokingham strategy would build on the success of its predecessor, which was adopted in 2003 and has helped reduce the number of homeless people in the borough each year since. As with its predecessor, the main aims of the strategy will be to prevent homelessness wherever possible and to address the needs of anybody for whom homelessness cannot be prevented.
The Council’s draft strategy for preventing Wokingham homelessness focuses on providing good advice, information and flexible help to those in danger of becoming homeless as well increasing the availability of affordable housing. Some of the initiatives that have been set up include a mediation service for families in which young people are in danger of being forced from the family home, the publication of a range of housing advice leaflets and reorganising the housing needs team to provide greater focus on homelessness prevention.
The Council has also introduced Rent-in-Advance and Rent Deposit schemes to give a helping hand to people who need it when they are renting a home.
The new strategy sets out to expand and develop these and other initiatives already under way as well as to introduce new methods of preventing homelessness.
Among these improvements envisaged by the strategy are to collect and study customer feedback from people who have been in contact with the housing needs team, to establish links with an independent financial advice centre to enable referrals for debt advice and to increase publicity to improve residents’ awareness of housing rights.
If approved, the effectiveness of the strategy would be evaluated by a newly created homelessness strategy forum.
Wokingham Borough Council leader Cllr David Lee said: “With the current uncertainty in the housing market and the economy, more people will be in danger of becoming homeless in the next few years – so this strategy is coming at an opportune time. Prevention is the key to our strategy because it is better for all concerned to stop people becoming homeless than to try to help them once they are homeless. Our current strategy has been successful in reducing the number of homeless people in the borough and it is right to review that now in order to ensure further success in the future.”
The strategy will be discussed by the council’s decision-making executive committee on Thursday September 25.
Wokingham Borough Council
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