Priority 3: Support
Our objectives
- To provide support to people who are, or may be, at risk of homelessness.
- To improve quality of life and resilience to further problems.
- To prevent repeat homelessness.
- To strengthen partnership working with other organisations in the provision of support to homeless households.
- To listen to the voice of our customers.
Homelessness cannot be tackled solely through the provision of accommodation. Some households will require a range of support services, provided by us and our partners to help prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place, to help sustain accommodation and to improve quality of life and resilience to further problems thereby preventing homelessness recurring.
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 introduced duties for local housing authorities to assess the support needs of all applicants who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and agree a personalised housing plan which should include reasonable steps required to meet any support needs identified.
The homelessness review found that homeless applicants can have a wide range of complex support needs. The top five support needs in 2022-2023 were a history of mental health problems, at risk of / has experienced domestic abuse, physical ill health and disability, learning disability, and a history of repeat homelessness.
People with complex needs can access a wide range of support services. Some of the key areas of support we provide include:
- Housing Inclusion Service
- Temporary Accommodation and DPLS Complex Needs Panel
- Dartford Domestic Abuse One Stop Shop
- High Priority Rehousing Reciprocal Scheme
- Domestic Abuse Reciprocal Scheme
- Safeguarding referrals
- Kent Agency Assessment
- Disabled facilities grants
- Joint Working Protocol for Young People
- Housing Pathways for Criminal Service Justice Users
- Ukraine and Afghan refugee support to settle in the borough
- Working Households Fund
We will continue to focus on ensuring existing support is provided but need to do more, especially around expanding the Housing Inclusion Service and refreshing the Joint Working Protocol for Young People.
We also need to be responsive to the impact of various external challenges facing many households that can increase vulnerability to homelessness. We know that the pandemic led to increased unemployment, debt and rent arrears, relationship breakups, worsening mental health issues and addiction as well as increases in domestic abuse. We are now faced with the cost of living crisis and for many this is putting an increased strain on paying households bills including rent. And, we know that some Ukraine and Afghan refugees being resettled in the borough may not have their accommodation extended or relationships with hosts could potentially breakdown. People need support during these times to help them manage their situation and avoid homelessness.
How we will meet our objectives
Expand the Housing Inclusion Service offer
Our Housing Inclusion Service delivers comprehensive advice and assistance in many areas, including managing money, maximising income, claiming benefits, dealing with debt (including rent arrears), tenancy training, registering with a GP, accessing education, training or work opportunities, onward referrals to other support agencies, and maintaining external partnership contacts. While this service has achieved great success, demand for it is high, and there is a clear need for this service to grow to provide more support to sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness. Expanding the service and increasing partnership working with employment and education are particular areas we wish to focus on.
Work in partnership with the Kent Housing Options sub group to develop and deliver new Joint Working Protocols for Young People
A new protocol for 16/17 year olds and a new protocol for care leavers aged 18+ is being developed through the Kent Housing Options sub group. A training package for all new staff will be delivered to support awareness raising and implementation of the protocols.
Ensure guests living under the Homes for Ukraine and Afghan resettlement schemes are supported to move on
We will ensure people are supported to move on where resettlement arrangements are not extended and are ended.
Deliver annual domestic abuse awareness training for staff
The training will raise awareness of the dynamics of domestic abuse, how it impacts on service users, and how to respond to ensure a survivor centred approach to decision making is followed to reduce risk and increase safety. This training is delivered by the Kent Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (KIDAS) provider as part of the commissioned domestic abuse service provided by Kent County Council.
Introduce customer feedback mechanisms
Introducing customer feedback mechanisms will provide us with valuable insight into the lived experiences of homeless households. Listening to the voice of customers will help us learn and understand what we do well in providing support to homeless households, and what we need to do to improve.
Carry out a mystery shopping exercise on the homelessness service
Mystery shopping tests the service identifying where improvements may need to be made so that customers receive the best possible service and satisfaction levels increase.
How we will monitor success
We will monitor success through the monitoring of:
- Levels of support needs of homeless applicants
- Number of repeat homelessness cases
- Number of households assisted through the Housing Inclusion Service
- Evaluation of customer feedback received and satisfaction levels