West Devon
Borough Council
Homelessness Strategy 2022-27
Vision and Objectives
The South Hams and West Devon Strategy has been designed to contribute toward themes in both councils’ 20 Year Vision for the areas.
Better homes enabling better lives for all
Strong and Prosperous communities where residents live healthy lives and are empowered to make a positive impact
Our objectives are to:
Prevent:
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Identify those who are at risk of homelessness and work with them to prevent them from becoming homeless
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Working with partner agencies to enable early identification
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Addressing issues of housing quality and suitability to ensure homes are fit for purpose
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Address issues of affordability
Sustain:
Where complex needs are identified to work closely with partnership organisations to ensure that people are supported to sustain their homes long term.
Work in partnership with support services and achieve high referral rates between organisations to identify and address issues impacting on home management.
Relieve:
Where homelessness cannot be avoided, support people to find accommodation
Provide qualify temporary housing to limit the impact of homelessness on health.
Identify and access support to address the underlying issues contributing to homelessness.
Provide:
To improve access to a range of accommodation and support options suitable for household needs.
Expand the existing portfolio of homes rented through SeaMoor Lettings
Develop housing management and development options to increase availability of housing.
To achieve our objectives we have recognised that housing and support options need to reflect the needs of the household to ensure positive outcomes are achieved and repeat homelessness is minimised. The review of homelessness in South Hams and West Devon has identified that four key groups of people for whom the experience of homelessness and the contributing factors are both complex and unique.
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Single households
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Families
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Households with additional needs
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Rough Sleepers
Whilst the experiences and causes of homelessness across these groups is known to overlap, in order to continue to build on the proven track record of prevention work; it is essential that we look to examine and understand the barriers each group experiences when facing a housing need, to ensure best outcomes. Working proactively with our partners we can ensure we are able to offer advice and services that are tailored to the needs of those approaching us.