As well as providing support for Island people who find themselves homeless, the Isle of Wight Council works to prevent people becoming homeless in the first place and the authority is now looking for suppliers to enhance this work and build on the recent improvements to the community support service.
In order to help prevent homelessness, the council offers help at an early stage so people can live independently in their own homes and as part of communities.
Cabinet Member for adult social care, public health and housing needs, Councillor Clare Mosdell, said:
“Homelessness has unfortunately continued to be an experience far too many households have been exposed to, despite the best efforts and interventions of national and local government.
“Every single person on the Isle of Wight that has been at risk of or who has found themselves homeless during the pandemic has been provided with an accommodation offer and bespoke support.
“Nonetheless we, like many other councils across the country, are expecting the risk of homelessness to rise because of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic.
“Homelessness does not usually happen overnight – if we can offer genuine help to people at an early stage, it can let them keep their independence, stay in their own homes, and reduce demand on other services.”
Jamie Benchley, housing needs service manager, said:
“We would like to thank Southern Housing Group and others who have and continue to provide a first-class service supporting people to live independently and assisting the council in enabling those most in need to reach their goals and find a place to call home.
“Building on evidence of what works, we are now looking for one or more new partners to further enhance the service we offer and deliver this vital work.
“We would like to assure anyone already using our community support service that the service will continue, and we will make sure there is a smooth transition into any new services.
“Working together with our partners, we are beginning to make change possible for people that have found themselves at risk of homelessness and with no other options but to sleep rough on our streets.”
Way too many born now from drugged, drunken, or just those who no longer fear a pregnancy knowing it will be literally a ‘meal ticket’ for both parents and the child for the next eighteen years.
Then, the unwanted child grown up with little or no love will either leave the home of it’s free will, or be disowned, and then we, not this council, will have to fund the parents short lived pleasure of 16 years ago, via our council tax to house, and feed, not only ‘it’ but its likely separated parents, in two more rent and c.tax free individual homes.
The unloved teen, then carries on the same, adding another not really ‘wanted’ life to continue the cost to us, to society and to the misery of yet another child.
IF parents too poor to afford children were Worse off, not better off as such used to be, perhaps the free contraception would be more often used to break this costly in so many ways, cycle.
Giving more to people who don’t think, creates the ‘impression’ that they have done the ‘right thing’ by bringing another unneeded and unwanted life into a world where people are less and less ‘needed’ and just ruin their lives and, to me, more importantly all of ours then having to ‘deal’ with the costly and social side of their careless attitudes.
Totally agree Jacko. Support the ‘genuine’ people/families who have fallen on hard times, lost their job, their income and could find themselves homeless. Too much money, time and effort is given to the ‘spongers’ the ‘I don’t want to work because I can get every benefit there is available’. There are generations of these same families with this mindset, they are parasites, they take from society but give nothing back. This is just not right.
So what happens when companies don’t tender for the new contracts as the amount of funding per company is capped so not financially viable anymore? Another valuable service lost no doubt!