ARCHIVED news story
You never imagine it will happen to you
Released on 09 August 2005
South Norfolk Council is opening, newly built, temporary accommodation for homeless families in Costessey. The accommodation provides 6 self-contained flats.
The Council have a duty to provide temporary accommodation for families who find themselves unintentionally homeless.
Cllr Amanda Smith - who leads South Norfolk Council on Care, Fairness and Housing said:
“Becoming homeless, often through no fault of your own, can be a very stressful time for families. We now, very rarely place families in Bed and Breakfast, and then only in exceptional circumstances. I welcome this new quality development at Costessey, which may make families feel more secure and help to reduce their anxiety whilst more permanent accommodation is being sought.”
At times, families find themselves in need of temporary accommodation, through losing their home due to an unfortunate turn of events, such as: a relationship breakdown, financial difficulty leading to an eviction or repossession, or a change to family circumstances. Such events could impact any of us, at anytime.
As an example, a family may contact South Norfolk Council, in need of help because of a relationship breakdown. The Council’s first response is to try and prevent homelessness by working with the person to find solutions. This could include mediation and the involvement of other agencies but in some cases it will be necessary for the family to go into temporary accommodation until suitable alternative accommodation is found.
People never imagine it will happen to them, so when families arrive at the temporary accommodation, their esteem is very low but they are offered a lot of support through the South Norfolk Resettlement Service. If appropriate, they receive help on where to find: schools, health services, local facilities and provide links to specialist advice sources such as debt and welfare advice as well as trying to keep their spirits up.
The Housing Advice team at South Norfolk Council want to hear from people as soon as they become aware of a problem, which could potentially result in them losing their home. The sooner they get involved the better the chance of preventing the loss of their home.
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Contact us
| contact officer/team: | Communications Team |
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| web: | online enquiry form |
| email: | communicationsteam@s-norfolk.gov.uk |
| telephone: | 01508 533611 or 01508 533983 |
| minicom/textphone: | 01508 533622 |
| address: | South Norfolk House Swan Lane Long Stratton Norwich NR15 2XE |
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