Single homeless people are being failed in Scotland
- 10 Aug
New figures have shown that less than half of single homeless people in Scotland have found accommodation when they have sought help from authorities.
Homeless charity Crisis have found that only 47% of single homeless people without children have received a tenancy through their local council when they became homeless, reports RT.
The report says that single homeless people are likely to be “more vulnerable” and have previously been homeless before.
When they seek assistance, they receive less help than families “both in prevention interventions when a homeless application is made,” the report found.
In a statement, Crisis Scotland director Ann Landels said Scotland “is an international leader to tackling homelessness.” Despite the country’s efforts to tackle the crisis, the new research “shows there are still challenges to be faced,” she said. Evidently, single homeless people are “still not getting the help they need” and they face “real inconsistency in the level of support they get, depending on which council they go to for help.We are keen to work with local councils to help them overcome the challenges they face supporting people who find themselves homeless.”
Report author Peter Mackie said the assistance offered to single homeless people in Scotland “is exceptional when compared to other developed nations and we must recognize this.”
The study proves efforts to prevent homelessness are “highly inconsistent” and many single homeless people are “not finding a home when they seek local authority assistance. We must look carefully at the services offered by local authorities if we really wish to meet the needs of single homeless people,” he added.
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