Households under threat of becoming homeless up a third
THE number of households in Rhondda Cynon Taff under threat of becoming homeless increased by a third last year.
The council has set out its plan to tackle homelessness over the next four years, which reveals that 764 households were threatened with homelessness in 2017-18, a 34% rise from 2016-17.
The three main causes of people being accepted as homeless in RCT over the past three years included the loss of rented or tied accommodation, parents being unwilling to accommodate, and a breakdown of relationship due to violence.
The council’s cabinet has now approved its latest homelessness strategy, which runs until 2022.
The council has a duty to carry out a homelessness review and to produce a strategy to prevent homelessness and ensure suitable accommodation and satisfactory support is available for people who are or who may become homeless.
Louise Davies, head of public protection at the council, said more people were being offered assistance before they become homeless.
A new Welsh Government measure looks at the percentage of people who are confirmed to be at risk of homelessness and have their homelessness successfully prevented following advice and assistance from the council.
This figure is 75% in RCT, which makes it the second-best-performing authority in Wales at the moment.
In terms of the specialist services the council provides, it currently has 93 units of accommodation for young people, those with a substance misuse, and those with mental health issues.
There is the housing advice and information service provided through the housing solutions team at the Housing Advice Centre in Sardis House, Pontypridd.
There are also specialist mental health workers who are based with the housing solutions team to provide help to those with mental health needs.
But there are a few areas in prevention of homelessness which need improvement, including limited services for male victims of domestic abuse, bed and breakfast accommodation still being used, a shortage of single-person accommodation and a lack of specialist accommodation with for young people.
Councillor Rhys Lewis, the council’s cabinet member for stronger communities, wellbeing, and cultural services, said it was a sensitive area but he believed the strategy was fit for purpose.
“There has been an increase in demand for services,” he said.
“It is important we have the necessary support structure and preventative measures.”
He said homelessness had gained quite a high profile in the press in recent years and occurred for a variety of reasons in towns and villages and not just cities.
“We recognise it is a moral objective to help those who have fallen on hard times, in most cases through no fault of their own.”
He said support officers were looking at ways to reduce the use of emergency accommodation for young people.
“We recognise that the use of B&Bs isn’t right. It isn’t appropriate.”
The leader of the council, Councillor Andrew Morgan, said: “We do a lot behind the scenes to prevent homelessness as well as helping those on the street.
“It is about trying to prevent homelessness as well as what we do on the street.”