Suffering a mental illness or impairment and threatened with homelessness
Stratford on Avon District Council's Housing Advice Team will ensure early identification of your housing problems, to try and prevent you from becoming homeless.
This will be achieved through partnership work and multi-agency working to prevent you from becoming homeless, through offering the necessary support and intervention you may require.
Help from the Council if you are single and homeless or threatened with homelessness.
If you are eligible and you normally reside in the UK and you are homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the Council is likely to have one of two duties to help you under the Homelessness Reduction Act. If you are threatened with homelessness the Council will have a duty to help prevent you from becoming homeless. If you are actually homeless the Council will have a duty to assist you to relieve your homelessness, but it may not be obliged to provide you with temporary accommodation whilst it does so.
If the Council accepts a duty to either prevent or relieve your homelessness you will be invited to complete a Personalised Housing Plan with a housing professional. This will outline the steps that both you and the Council will take to help resolve your situation. For the Council to be legally obliged to provide you with temporary accommodation it will have to be satisfied that there is reason to believe you have a priority need.
On the basis that you are suffering from a mental illness or impairment this Council could well accept that you are vulnerable and therefore in priority need for accommodation. This will be determined by your personal circumstances.
When considering whether you have a priority need the Council will look at whether you are vulnerable as a result of:
- Having a mental illness
- Having a learning disability or physical disability
- Being under 21 and having been in care
- Having been in the armed forces
- Having fled violence or threats of violence.
- Having served a custodial sentence
Vulnerable as a result of having a mental illness
Whether you are vulnerable as a result of having a mental illness will depend on the severity of your condition and how it affects you. You will need to tell the Council about any medication you take, any treatment you are receiving and any healthcare professionals that you are under. The Council may also ask you questions about how your condition affects you.
Stratford on Avon District Council will continuously review the advice and advocacy services available to you, and develop outreach support services according to your needs through the Personalised Housing Plan that will be completed in partnership with you and potentially your advocate.
The Council's Housing Advice Team will attempt to signpost you to main stream healthcare services where necessary and will refer you to local support services that specialise in supporting those with mental illness.
For more information on your housing options and homeless support, you can self refer to support services using the Customer Referral Form or you can contact our Homeless Team for further information via:
Address: Elizabeth House, Church Street, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6HX
Phone: 01789 260 126
Out of hours phone: 01789 267575
Housing Options
Emergency accommodation if you have no housing
You may need to use emergency accommodation such as a hostel, night shelter or bed and breakfast accommodation if you have nowhere to go. As mentioned above, the Council will only have a duty to provide you with emergency temporary accommodation if you are in priority need.
If you are not in priority need you will have to secure your own temporary accommodation. Hostels provide emergency temporary accommodation. Some are direct access, which means you don't need a referral from an agency to use them. There are no direct access hostels in the Stratford on Avon District so you may have to go out of area to secure a hostel such as Coventry, Leamington Spa or Birmingham.
You can contact the Housing Advice Team on the number above for advice relating to emergency accommodation. You may wish to see if you can stay temporarily with a family member or friend whilst the Council offers you advice to resolve your situation.
Help finding housing in the private rented sector
You could try to find housing in the private rented sector. The Housing Advice Team will be able to advise you how to find out what housing is available locally and how to apply for Universal Credit or Housing Benefit to help you with your housing costs.
You might be able to get help with a deposit and rent in advance through the Councils private rented sector rent deposit/bond scheme: Tenancy Access Scheme.
Apply for a housing association home
As a longer term option, you could also consider applying for a housing association home. Please note that there is a high demand for social housing in the Stratford on Avon District, and in particular one bedroom properties are in high demand, so some people who apply may not ever be successful with an offer of social housing. If you wish to be considered for social housing in the district you can register online at Home Choice Plus.
Support Services
If you feel like you are experiencing a mental health crisis, you should get help straight away by contacting the NHS Mental Access Hub on 08081 966798.
If you are struggling with your mental health, then you can talk to a member of the team at your local GP practice, or use one of the services Mental Wellbeing | Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Fred Winter Centre
This service is a free drop-in centre where rough sleepers and vulnerable people who may be homeless or at risk of homelessness can get a hot drink, a snack and link in with support services. There are also shower, bathing and clothes washing facilities available.
The Fred Winter Centre is located at 41 Guild Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6QY
Food Bank
You can obtain a food bank voucher by contacting Stratford-on-Avon District Council Housing Advice team. For more information on the Food Bank please visit their website: Link - https://stratforduponavon.foodbank.org.uk/opening-times/
