General Support
You will have a named Homeless Support Officer who will make
sure that you are offered all the support you need from the
Homeless Support Service, and will work with you to develop a plan
of what needs to happen to make sure you are ready for moving in to
your own permanent tenancy when one becomes available.
Aims of the service
- To prevent homelessness through the provision of person centred
housing support.
- To support households in temporary accommodation.
- To assist and support households to settle into permanent
accommodation and minimise repeat homelessness.
Working with the Homeless Support Service will make it easier
for you to get access to a range of other types of support. The
type of help you can expect to get from the Homeless Support
Service, includes:
Help with claiming welfare benefits
Support to claim Housing Benefit (where applicable).
- Practical help with form filling.
- Referrals to Welfare Rights services to maximise income.
- Support in dealings with the Department of Work and
Pensions.
Advice about moving in
- Resettlement and tenancy support to help you to sustain your
tenancy.
- Advice about rent arrears.
- Finding a GP and accessing other agencies.
- Assistance and support with Council Tax and energy/phone
bills.
Advice and help with safety and security
- Advice on reporting repairs.
- Advice on fuel poverty.
- Advice on home security.
- Support for those affected by domestic violence/anti-social
behaviour.
Help with budgeting and domestic skills
- General advice on cooking and nutrition.
- Advice on household maintenance.
- Advice on maintaining a property in good repair.
Help with developing social skills and behaviour
management
- Support to address underlying issues that may be affecting your
personal confidence or behaviour.
- Referrals to other agencies who can provide specialist
support.
- Support to access a range of activities such as voluntary work
and adult learning.
- Work with careers services to provide advice and access to
training and employment.
General counselling/emotional support
- A listening ear and support through a crisis.
- Clients are encouraged to address the underlying issues that
have led to their homelessness to prevent it happening again.
- Access to specialist agencies who provide particular types of
support, e.g. Women's Aid, Scottish Association for Mental Health,
Citizen's Advice Bureau etc).
