Warning as figures reveal babies are among the homeless in Oban
‘UNACCEPTABLE’ figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal 30 young people – including babies – were officially homeless around Oban earlier this year.
Seventeen of those registered as homeless with Argyll and Bute Council were aged from birth to 16, living in 12 families.
Rough-sleeping data requested by The Oban Times also showed that, on March 12 this year, there were 13 known homeless people aged 16 to 24 in the Lorn area.
Alison Watson, deputy director of Shelter Scotland, warned that being homeless can have a serious impact on young people’s life chances.
‘This is concerning as homelessness has a real impact on children’s health, education and life chances. Living in temporary accommodation can be a life in limbo – waiting for a real place to call their home.
‘At the heart of the problem is that demand for truly affordable housing outstrips supply. To tackle the shortage, Scotland needs to build enough social and truly affordable homes to meet that demand and ensure no child wakes up homeless in 21st-century Scotland. It also needs to ensure there is a minimum standard of temporary accommodation so that people’s wait for a permanent home isn’t spent in poor quality, inappropriate housing,’ she said.
Argyll and Bute Council said it proactively helps the homeless by offering support, mediation and advice services, liaising closely with the Health and Social Care Partnership and also works with registered social landlord partners to find people permanent accommodation and to continue to build new social housing.
Councillor Kieron Green said: ‘I find it utterly unacceptable for those of any age, but especially children and young people, to be left without a home of their own.’
He added: ‘I welcome plans that housing associations have for delivering hundreds of new houses and flats for social renting locally and look forward to this being delivered as quickly as possible.’
On Friday, West Highland Housing Association put in a planning application to build 300 homes on land west of Dunstaffnage at Mains Farm, Dunbeg.
And Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA) has just announced plans to invest £24.5 million in its existing stock and its new-build programme during 2018/19.
Its director of investment and regeneration, Kirsteen McGinn, said its development programme recognises the housing needs of those on the council’s HOME Argyll list, which will mean that ‘some homeless families will be rehoused either in the new properties or properties vacated by tenants moving into them’.
Currently Blue Triangle Housing Association, with just 32 beds, is the council’s sole provider of temporary accommodation in Oban for the homeless and it has nothing available for families with children.
The charity Carr Gomm, which supports people, said getting a secured tenancy is taking up to two years for those families and four years for the single homeless in Oban. ‘There has always been a lack of permanent accommodation in Oban,’ said Carr Gomm service manager Susan Colin.
‘Legislation determines that if someone is deemed priority homeless, the council has a duty to accommodate them in the local authority area but, because there is a lack of temporary accommodation in Oban, often they are offered another area of Argyll and Bute instead, such as Helensburgh, Campbeltown and Rothesay.
‘It’s been a big issue for years. People are being offered housing miles away from their social network and particularly the younger ones often don’t want to go.
‘Instead they sofa surf or sleep rough on the streets.’
According to the FoI figures, the council dealt with 88 homeless applications across Lorn between February 1, 2017, and January 31 this year.
Since May last year, the number of people turning to Oban food and friendship charity New Hope for help has doubled – and many of them are homeless or sofa surfing, says its service manager Lorraine McCormick.
‘We continue to give out tents and sleeping bags to rough sleepers when needed and we welcome everyone into our service, no matter what their circumstances.
‘Over the winter it is particularly difficult to see people rough sleeping.
‘People are dying on the streets of Scotland every year from hypothermia and other illnesses associated with homelessness.
‘We don’t want to see anyone die in our town so we open our doors to all.’