Housing
Information for particular groups of people
Please see below more information for groups of people who are particularly at risk of becoming homeless.
Key groups include:
Former Members of the Armed Forces
Care Leavers
People affected by Domestic Abuse
People Leaving Hospital
People being released from Prison
People with Mental Health Issues
Housing advice for former members of the Armed Forces
If you’re leaving the armed services, or you are a former member, you may be entitled to extra help if you become homeless or are threatened with homelessness.
We must consider whether we can help you using both general rules that apply to everyone and special rules that apply to people who were in the forces.
You must make us aware if you are a veteran or are leaving the armed services.
The Armed Forces Covenant
The armed forces covenant was published in May 2011 by central government. The covenant is about removing disadvantages so armed service personnel, past and present, get the same treatment and access to services as the civilian community. It is based on four themes.
- Encouraging local communities to support their local armed forces community and vice versa
- Promoting public understanding and awareness of issues that affect the armed forces community
- Recognising the sacrifices made by the armed forces community
- Encouraging activities which help integrate the armed forces community into local life
We pledged our support in 2013 with a particular focus on respect and remembrance. You can find out more about the covenant by visiting our Armed Forces Support web page.
There are a variety of groups which are open to the armed forces community in Hartlepool, including a breakfast club on a Saturday morning. Details can be found here.
Housing help for young care leavers
If you are aged 18-21 you can get help from your social worker or the Housing Advice team.
Further information
If you are aged 18-21 and spent at least one night in care when you were 16 or 17, you are automatically classed as being in priority need until your 21st birthday which means that we can help you find somewhere to live.
Benefits for care leavers over 18
When you turn 18 you are entitled to claim benefits.
Usually if you are aged under 35 and rent from a private landlord, the maximum housing benefit you can get is the same rate you could get for renting a single room in a shared house.
However, if you’ve been in care, this doesn’t apply until you turn 22. Until then you should still be able to get the full one-bedroom rate.
Housing help for care leavers aged 21 years and above
Some older care leavers can get accommodation from the Housing Advice Service if they are in priority need. You might be in priority need if you:
- are vulnerable as a result of having been in care
- haven’t had a stable home since you left care (for example, university)
- have slept on the streets since leaving care
We can look careful at your situation and see if you are vulnerable for housing purposes, which means you are more vulnerable than an average person.
Other support for care leavers aged 18 to 24
As a care leaver you should continue to receive help and advice from us until your 25th birthday.
Your social worker or support worker should keep in touch to see how you are getting on. Before you leave care you’ll draw up a pathway plan, setting out what support you might need to live independently.
Housing help for people affected by domestic abuse
Domestic Abuse is never OK and if you are at risk you should contact the Police. You can also contact Harbour 24hr help line 03000 20 25 25 which is staffed by trained domestic abuse workers.
If you have to leave your home because of violence, abuse or threatening behaviour, get help and find a safe place to stay.
Domestic Abuse is the reason for a significant number of people to consider they are homeless. It can affect women and men of all ages and backgrounds. Domestic Abuse comes in many forms and is not limited to physical violence.
Help from Housing Advice Team
The Housing Advice Team Officers are used to dealing with victims of Domestic Abuse.
The Housing Advice Team can help by providing you with advice and support about personal safety if you are at risk of abuse, helping you find a safe home or refuge, referring you for legal advice if needed.
We do have responsibilities regarding safeguarding that mean we sometimes have to report concerns that a child is at risk that services may not know about.
Help if you want to stay in your own home
We can offer advice and assistance that may allow you to remain in your current accommodation with support and possibly additional security being put in place. There may also be legal steps you can take that could protect you from a perpetrator approaching you, your family or your home.
Harbour helps victims of abuse can remain in their own homes, safe from their abusers.
Harbour have community support workers who can help anyone, male or female, living in the area, who has suffered domestic abuse whether they own or rent their home.
For more information on this, please look at the Support Available page on Harbour’s website.
If you are staying away from your home (perhaps with friends or family) because you believe it is not safe to return we may be able to assist you to move on from where you are staying temporarily.
If you cannot return to your home and have nowhere else to stay we will try and find you somewhere safe to stay. We would usually advise that a Refuge was the most suitable accommodation in this situation as there will be specialist support available to you as well as accommodation.
Find a place in a refuge
There is a Refuge in Hartlepool, although for reasons of safety a local Refuge is not always appropriate, and we will sometimes look for Refuge spaces elsewhere. There may be some circumstances when a Refuge has to say they cannot offer a space to someone.
If a Refuge space is not available the Housing Advice Team may have a duty to offer our own emergency temporary accommodation whilst we look into your situation in more detail, however this is not always the case. Where we do provide accommodation we will want to encourage you to work with support agencies and we would be concerned not to offer emergency accommodation in areas where you may be at risk.
If we are to assist you with securing permanent accommodation we would want to work with you and any other agencies involved finding somewhere to live where you would be as safe as possible from any further risk. It may well be that moving to a different area is the most suitable way to do this, so that a perpetrator or people known to them would not be likely to find out where you have moved to. We, and other agencies, would try and work together to support you to cope with the changes that such a move may require.
There is further advice on our Domestic Abuse section with a list of the type of support that is available.
More information is available on the shelter website here https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/homelessness/your_situation/domestic_abuse
Housing help upon leaving hospital
If you have nowhere to live after being discharged from hospital, we may be able to offer help and support.
Key advice
You should tell the hospital nursing staff as soon as possible, so that they know that you will be homeless when you are discharged. They will ask the hospital discharge team to help if they can.
The discharge team should refer you to our Housing Advice Team via a Duty to Refer [hyperlink to D2R page]. The Housing Advice Team will assess your situation and potentially take a homeless application. You may be offered temporary accommodation while your application is assessed.
We can arrange to meet with you in hospital in order to complete our assessment.
If you have a home already but it needs to be adapted, the hospital can refer you to our Special Needs Housing Team that is responsible for adaptations or to our Disabled Facilities Grant. Please contact them via the Council switchboard on 01429 266522.
Homeless upon release from prison
If you are due to be released from prison and have nowhere to live, find out about services that could provide support and help you find accommodation. You could also apply for housing help as a homeless person.
The Through the Gate team should refer you to our Housing Advice Team via a Duty to Refer [hyperlink to D2R page]. The Housing Advice Team will assess your situation and potentially take a homeless application. You may be offered temporary accommodation while your application is assessed.
Through the Gate works with prisoners and people on remand to help them make the transition back into the community when they leave prison.
If you apply to us for help because you are homeless, we might not always have a legal duty to give you accommodation. In most cases, we will have a legal duty to create a personalised housing plan with you, and help as much as we can to help you find a suitable home. In some cases we may have a duty to give you temporary accommodation for a short time.
It is important for you to get in touch as soon as possible to give time for an assessment so that housing options can be explored and accommodation found.
Housing help for people with mental health issues
If you have a mental illness or impairment, and are threatened with homelessness, we may be able to provide help and support.
Get help early
If you contact our Housing Advice team for help, we will make sure your housing problems are identified early, to hopefully prevent you from becoming homeless. The earlier you come to us, the better.
If you are suffering from a mental illness or impairment, we may accept that you are vulnerable and therefore “in priority need” for accommodation. This will be determined by your personal circumstances and the officer assessing your application will collect information from health professionals before reaching a decision.
Even if you are not in priority need, we can help you by creating a personalised housing plan for you. It will have actions for you and the officer to complete that will help give you the best chance of avoiding homelessness and finding a home.
We will make sure that your mental health is taken into account. If you think you need support with your housing needs, please contact our Housing Advice Service.
Other help
There are a range of services for people with mental health difficulties.
We Can Talk is a useful website run by the NHS to offer support for people experiencing problems with their mental health.
There are also these other services available
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Samaritans (free to call service open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for people who want to talk in confidence) Email: jo@samaritans.org |
Rethink
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SANEline |
Careline |
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MIND MIND offer a range of services including talking therapies and opportunities to undertake short courses and group activities to help people with their mental health. |
NHS choices The NHS Choices website has some useful information, advice and support. |
