Homeless family of eight moves into new home as scheme reaches milestone
A HOMELESS family of eight have moved into a place of their own in Coventry - marking a major milestone.
Social enterprise group Cornerstone Partnership moved a family of eight into the 100th property in its service in Upper Stoke.
The move, under a partnership with Coventry City Council, is designed to help move vulnerable homeless households out of temporary accommodation and into more suitable living.
So far, 83 properties have been made available in partnership with the authority, which agreed for an additional 103 properties over a two-year period earlier in March.
Across the West Midlands, Cornerstone has now handed over 100 properties in total, hitting the milestone two-and-a-half years after the keys to the first home were given out in February 2018.
The homes provide a more suitable alternative to temporary accommodation, with rents for a minimum of 12 months to create stability and set at the Local Housing Allowance rate to make them as affordable as possible.
The 100th home is a ‘moveon’ property which will enable the new family to live there as long as they like.
“We’re extremely proud to have reached our first 100 homes with Cornerstone Partnership,” Dean Starr, cofounder and director said.
“From the very start of the project it was evident to us the scale of the homelessness challenge, and we knew that in order to make the most significant impact possible to help as many people as we could, we needed to build something that could scale.
“This milestone is a clear intention of our focus and ambition to protect a share of the housing market so that those who need it most have a place to call home.
“We’re very thankful to all of our team, partners, suppliers, customers and others involved in contributing towards our progress.”
The scheme is one of a number the city council has taken on to reduce its costly temporary accommodation bill and provide more suitable accommodation for homeless families.
Last year the council began a £1.7 million lease of tower block Caradoc Hall to provide 102 flats.
In March this year another deal was agreed to buy two buildings with around 25 beds each for use as a temporary accommodation alternative.
That was followed in April with the opening of the former Frank Walsh House to provide 44 supported accommodation flats for individuals who were living in night shelters or on the streets.
The council has been reporting huge overspends on its homelessness budget over the years - some £3m over its budget - largely due to the cost of temporary accommodation, reported at an average of £14,000 a year per family earlier this year.
This milestone is a clear intention of our focus and ambition to protect a share of the housing market so that those who need it most have a place to call home