THERE are many subjects that we have not really got to grips with in our six years.
One of them is homelessness.
Whereas it is very visible in London, there isn’t an obvious sense of a homeless community in Thurrock. Perhaps, we haven’t looked very hard.
Our sister paper, YourHarlow has reported on a homeless community in Harlow and even has people sleeping in the woods.
So, let us have a look at homelessness.
But what does it mean?
Our first stop was Thurrock Council and in many ways, this was our first stumbling block.
The simple question to Thurrock Council was: "Is homelessness, a priority need?"
The answer came back, in short, it is "not a priority?’
The homelessness criteria is as follows
1. Eligibility
· British Citizens or applicants with recourse to public funds
2. Do you have a priority need?
You are considered to have a priority need if you or a member of your family is one or more of the following
· Pregnant
· You a have a dependent child aged 16 yrs or younger or aged 17 – 18 yrs old and still at school
· You are 16 or 17 yrs old
· Vulnerable as a result of a severe physical or mental disability
· Homeless due to a flood, fire or similar disaster
· Forced to leave home because of violence or abuse, and more at risk than most people
3. Homelessness
· Whether you are able to return to your recent accommodation
· Whether you have been homeless due to an emergency
4. Your reasons for becoming homeless
We look at whether you had a choice in becoming homeless
· If we decide you have become homeless but had a choice in the matter, (you become intentionally homeless) – there is a limit to the amount of help we can offer you.
For example
The accommodation you left was available and reasonable for you to occupy. You have deliberately done something that lead to you losing your accommodation.
5. Your local connections
· Whether you have lived here for 6 of the last 12 months
· Whether you have permanent work in this area
· Whether you have close relatives in this area
If you do not have any connections with us we may be able to refer you to another authority for help.
The next question is, how many people, does this leave "out in the cold"?
To be continued…….
