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CHAPTER NINE - SERVICE USER PERSPECTIVES

Introduction

9.1 Service user perspectives are a highly relevant factor in evaluating homelessness prevention activity. Hence, our research included interviews with people reportedly helped to avoid homelessness thanks to local authority intervention. This work was linked to the case study areas in that the interviewees were drawn from four of the five local authorities being examined. The broad aims of this element of the research are outlined in Chapter 1 which also summarises the methods used here (see para 1.19). Further methodological details and the interview topic guide are set out in Annexes 2 and 3.

Scope of interviewee sample

9.2 The sample of service users interviewed is summarised in Table 9.1. Although the service selection was not as initially envisaged (see Annex 2), the final sample of interviewees relates to two broad services - rent deposit scheme and youth housing support (covering outreach, residential, family mediation and furniture initiatives).

9.3 It should, of course, be stressed that the number of interviews was small and that the sampling strategy was not designed to produce any kind of 'representative sample'. Hence, the interviews should be seen as primarily a qualitative exercise designed to shed light on the experience of receiving 'homelessness prevention services' and on the processes involved here. It should be acknowledged here that - as might be expected - respondents' accounts of their 'initial expectations' appeared to be to an extent rationalised according to their subsequent experiences (see para 9.49).

Table 9.1 - Final Sample by service and local authority area

Note: City of Edinburgh Council also assisted the research team by facilitating contacts with former homelessness prevention service users. Unfortunately, however, details of the 10 willing volunteers generated by this action did not arrive in time for these individuals to be included in the interviews.

Household characteristics

9.4 Table 9.2 summarises the household profile of the individuals interviewed. Nine of the 15 interviewees who had been helped to access a private tenancy through a rent deposit guarantee ( RDG) scheme were single parents. This should be seen within the context of the discussion about the targeting of RDG schemes in Chapter Seven. Whilst LAs reported that their RDG schemes were generally targeted on single people assessed as 'non-priority homeless', it was acknowledged that there was a growing tendency for service users to include family households judged 'intentionally homeless' or who had refused their 'final offer' of council housing. It would, however, appear that these latter groups may be somewhat over-represented within our service user interviewee sample.

9.5 Consistent with findings reported in Chapter Seven, the majority of RDG service user interviewees were over 25. Only two of this group were aged under 25. In one of these cases, the individual had a good job and found the rent quite affordable, and in the second help through the RDG scheme was provided only following the interviewee's refusal of a council tenancy.

9.6 Not surprisingly, individuals accessing youth prevention activities were mainly aged 21 or under. Two of the interviewees were pregnant at the point of interview.

Table 9.2 - Household Characteristics

Source: HWU telephone interviews

Pathways into homelessness

9.7 Although the research covered just two broad types of prevention service, the pathways into homelessness reported by service users were diverse, complex and in some cases, experienced over a long period of time.

9.8 Looking first at those using youth prevention services, the primary reason for homelessness occurring was a breakdown between the interviewee and their parent(s). This was true for eight of the 11 service users. For five of these young people, the most recent experience of dealing with homelessness was not their first. Some had attempted to solve their housing problems in the short term by staying with their friends or other family members. As a result, by the time they approached the LA for assistance, they had been living in unstable housing circumstances for some time:

9.9 Case 3 left the parental home following ongoing arguments:

I was chucked out of my folk's house. I was staying in a B&B for a while, but ended up going to my gran's house [after waiting for response from LA]. I stayed for quite a while, but I was sleeping on her couch. My gran got ill and ended up having to move, and I could not go with her. So, I ended up back at homelessness in another B&B. Soon after I got a letter saying that I had been accepted onto the [residential] project. (17, single)

9.10 Case 4 left home following a fight with her parents:

I moved in with my boyfriend. We then fell out and I moved in with my sister. She has always been good to me. I ended up staying there for a year, sleeping on the couch [before going to the LA]. (19, single)

9.11 In other cases, previous arguments with parents meant that interviewees already had experiences of negotiating LA services:

Case 26: I have not really got on with my mum. It was getting worse and worse and she eventually asked me to leave. I stayed with a friend first, then I was placed in the [residential] project. I was there for about 7-8 weeks. I eventually ended up back at home but I ended up fighting with my mum again. This time there were no places in the project so I had to stay in a short term flat. I just wanted to stay in the short term flat, I did not want to go back to the project, but they said I did not have another choice because of my age. It did not work out at the project and I have been back home since March (17, single)

Case 23: Basically I am arguing with my mum all the time. I am not wanted round the house anymore and she wanted me out. One day she kicked me out and I went to the LA. I just turned up and said I was homeless. I was used to going to the LA by this time as it had happened before - I have been in various hostels and residential projects (17, single).

9.12 A comparison of these experiences with RDG respondents suggests that the protracted type of journey described above was more widespread amongst the young people interviewed. For those accessing rent deposit schemes, contact with the LA was generally elicited by a specific event, or sequence of events resulting in them seeking help. To illustrate, the circumstances which had led to people becoming homeless included:

• Breakdown of relationships between partners / family members
• Financial problems leading to mortgage arrears
• Financial problems leading to rent arrears and eviction
• Mental health problems leading to rent arrears
• Release from prison
• Escaping domestic violence
• Escaping harassment and intimidation in a previous property.

9.13 Across all interviewees, there was a general understanding that, if experiencing housing problems, one should approach the local authority for help. Initial contact was often made at a point where it was too late to actually prevent homelessness from occurring - for example, in cases involving domestic violence, relationship breakdown and release from prison. With the exception of the latter example, it is difficult to determine how prevention activities could have been triggered at an earlier stage.

9.14 Indeed, for a large proportion of the sample, homelessness was imminent when the applicant contacted the council. Eighteen of the 26 interviewees reported that at the point of their most recent contact with the LA they were already homeless or expected to be homeless that day. Although, in reality, many were able to resort to living with friends or family whilst their cases were being investigated, such arrangements were generally unsustainable in the long term.

9.15 They were very few examples (2) of households making 'planned' approaches to the LA. Those cases that did involve 'planned' approaches were radically different in nature, as illustrated in the instance of Case 15. Here the interviewee and her son moved in with the mother-in-law as joint tenant to be full time carer:

When I moved in things got progressively worse. She [mother-in-law] was an alcoholic. I tried to improve the house but she was intimidating and her behaviour was aggressive. We decided that we could not live like this anymore and had to do something. We went to the LA and were told that because we were in a joint tenancy we could do nothing. We were told that we [me and son] were not homeless as we would be giving up a tenancy (40 plus one child)

9.16 Similarly, Case 19 was living in a private sheltered-style complex when she approached the Council:

The rent was £530 per month and I was struggling to manage. My son was helping me out and this was not fair on him. The tenancy was due for renewal after a year so I went to the LA before this happened for help and advice (60, single)

9.17 Interestingly, four of the interviewees who moved into private tenancies via RDG schemes did so following the refusal or abandonment of council tenancies. Location and image of the area were the main factors for refusals, with households being concerned about the level of drug use and crime. This is illustrated by Case 17, a single parent with two children who was staying with family members when she refused an offer of LA housing:

We got an offer of a house, but it was in a terrible area, well known for drugs. Also, it was in a different town, away from my friends and family. My split from my partner was due to drugs, so I simply could not allow my kids to grow up in an area like this (26 plus two children)

9.18 Similarly, Case 20 left an LA tenancy following intimidation and harassment to stay with her mother:

It was a really bad area. The kids were bullied and the house was burgled a number of times. I left the tenancy; I just could not stand it anymore. I went to stay with my mum I went to the Council at the time of moving out and they were awful. They just wanted me back in the house I was in. They keep pushing and pushing, offering me the same area. Nothing would have made me go back to that house (46 plus one child).

9.19 Households with experiences of this kind expressed dissatisfaction with the way their case had been handled by their LA. Some unsuccessfully appealed what they considered an unreasonable offer. The views of those refusing a LA tenancy are exemplified by Case 12, a young single mother who had refused a tenancy in a location considered as too far from family support networks:

Problem is you only get one offer on a house - after that you are off the list. This was really unfair. Surely they would know I that I could not have accepted this (18 plus one child)

9.20 Case 17 approached a local voluntary agency seeking help in appealing an 'unreasonable offer':

I explained the reason for the refusal. I got a cheeky letter in response saying that if I was really homeless, I would have taken the offer. I feel like it may be seem like a snob or something, that the area was no good enough for me. That was not the case. I feel they did not listen fully to my reasons (26 plus two children)

Accessibility of services

9.21 Interviewees' understanding of local authority duties with respect to homelessness was generally very incomplete. Most had contacted the council on their own initiative, normally by presenting at a council office. They were usually interviewed on the day of their presentation, although some were asked to return at a later date. For those already homeless, this meant having to make their own arrangements to stay with friends or family or otherwise being placed in a hostel or B&B.

9.22 Responses on the part of many interviewees suggested confusion around their homelessness assessment. Indeed, a number were unsure whether they had had a formal assessment or what the outcome of the assessment was. When interviewees stated that the LA could not help them, it was difficult to determine whether they had been assessed as 'non-priority homeless' or as 'not homeless'. This perhaps reflects a need for LAs to place greater emphasis on informing applicants about the process they are going through.

9.23 Although the majority of referrals to RDG schemes were made smoothly, this was not always the case. The interviews revealed at least five (of 15) examples where the homelessness team initially dealing with a case did not make the service user aware of the RDG scheme. In the two examples detailed below, accessing the RDG was described as being 'pure chance'. This seems to suggest a lack of awareness among LA casework staff about the types of cases suitable for RDG referral or, indeed, a lack of awareness about the service's existence. The following examples could also be seen as reflecting the fact that some RDG schemes accept referrals from sources other than the homelessness team (see Chapter 7).

9.24 Case 14 had been evicted after falling into rent arrears:

I went there [voluntary advice centre] for help as I was still staying with family and this could not continue [following eviction due to rent arrears]. They told me about the [ RDG] scheme. Up to that point, no one at the LA had mentioned the scheme. I find this very surprising.

9.25 Case 18 had to move out of the amenity housing she was sharing with her grandmother before she fell ill:

I was really glad I found out about the rent deposit scheme [told about it by her Aunt]. It was pure chance and good luck that this happened. The LA did not even mention them and I was so surprised to find out that they were a LA service (single plus one child).

9.26 The route for young people accessing services appears to be clearer. This was generally because homelessness casework staff managed each case until an outcome was achieved, whether this was a return home or a move into another form of housing.

Experiences of services

9.27 Service users were asked whether the Council's response to their query helped them, at least partly, sort out their housing problems. Very few (2) felt that the Council's response did not help them, although a significant proportion (11) expressed mixed feelings about the assistance received. Responses here are summarised in Table 9.3.

Table 9.3 - Did the Council's response to your query help, at least partly, to sort out your housing problems?

Source: HWU telephone interviews

9.28 Most young people accessing tenancies or furniture initiatives agreed that the LA's responses had helped resolve their problems. Conversely, young people returning to the parental home were generally unhappy or had mixed feelings about the LA response.

9.29 A significant number of people accessing a rent deposit scheme felt unable to say whether the LA's response helped them resolve their housing problems. These mixed feelings most commonly related to the fact that their contacts with the council had involved two distinct 'services' - homelessness caseworker and RDG officer. This reflects a general theme throughout the interviews where service users described and evaluated their experience of homelessness casework staff and RDG staff separately. Contacts with the former tended to be described in a negative light, reflecting the function of homelessness caseworkers in 'policing' access to social housing and caseworker decisions that many of the applicants concerned were not eligible for such housing. As mentioned above, homelessness caseworkers did not necessarily make a direct referral to RDG schemes. Thus, some service users felt that they had been left to make their own arrangements, only starting to resolve their problems when they contacted the RDG officer through another route. This is illustrated in the experiences of the following cases:

Case 10: No, at the initial meeting with homelessness case workers I really expected more. After refusing the property, I really started to panic. I was so surprised that they did not take on the fact that I had a doctor's note regarding the attack [at last home]. It was the [ RDG scheme] that helped me out of this situation (42 plus one child)

Case 14: The Rent Deposit officer went out of her way to help me. The LA [homelessness] was absolutely useless (33 plus two children)

Case 20: No, I expected much more [from homelessness team], especially since I had the kids and there were issues of safety. The RDG staff were great though, they really sorted me out (46 plus one children).

Appropriateness of the service provided

9.30 The three young people accessing residential services prior to accessing a permanent tenancy all believed that the support provided was appropriate for their needs. The types of help identified as particularly beneficial included:

• Having a support plan which applicants had designed and agreed to (rather than one enforced upon them)
• Emotional support from someone who is non-judgemental
• Money management help
• Stair management
• Having someone there to talk to and listen to their problems.

9.31 For one young person, it was only retrospectively that they recognised how much help the support provided had actually been:

Case 2: Only looking back on it now was the help provided appropriate for me. I did not really want all that support at the time. Looking back it really did help me in a load of ways (18, single).

9.32 Ongoing outreach support played an important role in continuing to support young people once in their tenancy.

Case 2: Sometimes I think I do not need it but I guess it is good in case I encounter any problems. We meet weekly or fortnightly and basically she helps me with any problems I am having. It is good to have someone to fall back on, just in case (18, single).

Case 1: Yes, still receiving outreach support. This is basically helping me to maintain a steady life and they check that everything is okay (21, single).

Case 3: I am currently getting outreach through Linda and she is a star. Just great and helps me whenever I need it (17, single).

9.33 A young person provided with outreach support in a council tenancy was extremely positive about her experience. She was pregnant at the time of contacting the LA. Outreach support had included form filling, assistance in accessing community care grants and help in re-building her relationship with her family. Together, these support mechanisms had helped her to establish a stable tenancy.

9.34 Not all young people required the in-depth support available through residential or outreach, as in the example of the two young people accessing help through furniture initiatives. In both instances this relatively low level (and cost-effective) help was reported as having had a very positive impact. The young people involved were struggling to maintain their tenancy as they had minimal furniture, carpets and white goods. The costs of these items were beyond their means. Both saw themselves as having been at risk of having to give up their tenancy. The respondents described the impact of the initiative on their lives as follows:

Case 5: I am not concerned about losing my tenancy anymore and I feel secure now. I can have people round without being embarrassed (17, single)

Case 6: I think I had a 50-50 chance of keeping my tenancy [before the project]. I really thought I would have to give it up by the end of the year. It made such a difference, I was delighted to be able to talk to someone and explain what I needed. I am now enjoying my tenancy in the way I should (21, single).

9.35 Young people returning to the parental home having presented as homeless were less likely to regard the help offered as appropriate. This dissatisfaction was linked to the limited choices available to them. Following their contact with the LA, none felt any closer to getting their own tenancy, nor were any provided with any ongoing support to help them improve their relationship with their parents.

9.36 For both sets of service users, the inappropriateness of institutional accommodation was highlighted as a concern. A number of respondents noted that such environments are poor, due to drug use, drinking and disturbances during the night. Indeed, one young person was 'encouraged' to return home by being warned of the problems she could encounter within a young persons supported housing project:

Case 25: I had an interview with two ladies. I am not sure who they were or what department they were from. It was a terrible meeting; they told me all the bad things that could happen in hostels, like drugs and alcohol. They told me that was the only place and that they did not just give out housing to young people. They said that in a hostel I would get roped into things [like drugs and alcohol] and would end up having to leave anyway(18, single)

9.37 With only one exception, RDG service users were complimentary about the quality of the help and assistance offered by the schemes. Staff were described as both helpful and supportive. A number of service users commented that staff kept them up-to-date with progress in identifying a potentially suitable tenancy and this was found reassuring. RDG staff were reported as undertaking at least one follow-up visit to service users once in their tenancy. Normally, a trusting relationship had been established by this point and service users felt confident of being able to approach the RDG officer for further help, should this prove necessary.

9.38 Importantly, it was not simply the provision of the rent deposit that was so well-regarded. Instead, it was the wide range of additional support measures that made the experience so positive. For example:

• Assistance with form filling and benefit entitlement (e.g. via Discretionary Housing Payments)
• Emotional support and confidence building
• Discussions around money management and affordability
• Peace of mind offered by electrical and gas checks
• The choice of location provided.

Case 21: The RDS really did help. I had lost all confidence and they talked to the landlord for me. I would not have been able to do this.

Case 19: The ladies were just wonderful and really listened to me. I was able to pick what I wanted, in the right location and with a rent suitable for me.

Case 17: The RDS helped me fill in all the forms and gave my financial advice on what I could afford. My partner had dealt with all this stuff previously so this advice was invaluable. I had never ever been in this position so it all so nerve wracking. They organised all the stuff with my landlord, guaranteed they rent and set up arrangements for repaying it. The HB covers my rent completely so affordability is fine.

Case 20: After being at my mum's for a year, a friend mentioned the RDS to me. I went in and explained the situation. They said I would have a choice of where to live and what type of house. They helped with all the forms and sorted the housing benefit

9.39 The interviews revealed evidence of RDG staff working creatively to find housing solutions. In one case, an officer negotiated with the landlord to reduce the rent to the maximum amount payable via Housing Benefit. The respondent found this help invaluable as they would not have had the confidence to attempt such negotiations.

9.40 Nevertheless, many RDG service users believed that the help offered by the Council was inappropriate at least in certain respects. Issues cited here included:

• Lack of support to address drug and mental health problems
• Housing provided inappropriate due to disability
• Initial contact with homelessness caseworker unhelpful and unresponsive
• Offered only a private tenancy in spite of a preference for council housing.

9.41 Most of these respondents, nevertheless, acknowledged that the end result (i.e. enabling them to access a private rented tenancy) was a positive intervention on the Council's part.

Expectations of the service

9.42 Respondents were asked to reflect on the response they received from the LA and assess how this had matched up to expectations. Among young people there was a distinct split: six felt that the LA response far exceeded their initial expectations. For these applicants the outcome had been positive - four moved into their own tenancy (three via a supported transitional accommodation scheme) and two accessed a furniture initiative enabling them to stay in their own home.

Case 1: I expected so much less. I thought I would be flung in a women's refuge or crowded house with lots of kids and mothers (21, single)

Case 2: Not really sure what I expected to happen. I am happy with what did happen though (18, single)

Case 3: I was expecting to live my life in a B&B to be honest, most teenagers think that. We do not have high expectations about what the Council will do (17, single)

Case 5: No, I did not expect all they have given me (17, single)

Case 6: It was way more than I had expected from the Council (21, single)

Case 24: No, not really. It was a great response. I really was surprised at how much help they gave me (23, single)

9.43 These positive experiences contrasted sharply with those of four young people who had been 'helped to return to the parental home' by the LA. These respondents were disillusioned with the LA response and believed that they had been 'let down' by the system:

Case 22: No, not at all. I had really expected them to help me get into my house. That is what I wanted. Instead, they have put me on the housing list with 12 points. You need 35 to have any chance of getting house (19 plus partner and child)

Case 23: No not really. This is the first time they [the LA] have responded like this. Normally, they can get you into TA but this time they visited my mum and made me go back home (17, single)

Case 25: No, they have really let me down. I had nothing when I approached them. They said that a hostel would cost £90 per week but I can't afford that. I'm at college doing an HNC in health care. They said that I would have to leave college to move in. I guess I did not expect anymore. People (friends) had told me that they [the LA] are doing nothing (18, single)

Case 26: No, not at all. Well I really I wanted my own tenancy and this has been going on for two years and still nothing has happened (17, single)

9.44 Only one young person who accessed a tenancy reported unfulfilled expectations. In this instance, the respondent had expected a higher level of support to help her settle in and sustain her tenancy:

Case 4: I thought they would have given me more help and support given the fact I was pregnant and had nowhere to go (19, single)

9.45 Among RDG service users, it was notable that none ultimately accessing private tenancies were aware of the service prior to contacting the Council. All contacted the LA with an expectation that they would access advice, a hostel or LA housing.

9.46 Although all 15 respondents helped under RDG schemes had accessed a private tenancy, 12 remained less than fully satisfied. Some thought that - as a 'person with housing problems' - they should have qualified for a council tenancy. One respondent, for example, believed that her local background should have given her additional priority:

Case 7: This was not what I expected. I have been brought up in [local town] and would have thought that this counted for something. I have been left to fend for myself. If it was not for the [ RDG scheme] I do not know what I would have done (single, age unknown)

9.47 Two respondents felt that more support should have been provided to help them cope with mental ill-health. More generally service users felt that staff at first point of contact (normally homelessness caseworkers) could have been more sympathetic to their situation.

Case 15: It really did not meet my expectations at all. It took a lot of courage to go to the LA for help. I had given up everything and had nothing. I was really stuck - sleeping in my car as I was so scared of being in the house. It was a real release to make the appointment. But the first people I saw [she went to housing officer first] were terrible. They told me I had a tenancy and there was nothing I could do. They were totally negative, even after I explained the situation (40 plus one child)

9.48 These issues appear to highlight a need for homelessness caseworkers to explain more clearly the reasons why they are unable to provide housing and to develop more effective systems for referring households to other agencies who can offer help.

9.49 In interpreting respondents' assessment of 'prior expectations compared with actual experience' it is important to appreciate that our interviews took place some time after a service user's initial contact with the local authority. This time lag makes it difficult to obtain an entirely accurate account of interviewees' original expectations. As noted in para 9.3, respondents' accounts of 'initial expectations' here appear to some extent rationalised according to their subsequent experiences. This is suggested by young persons responses. Service users who had successfully accessed a tenancy tended to state that their original expectations had been low. Conversely, service users who had ultimately returned to the parental home more commonly described initially high expectations which remained unfulfilled.

Views about the new home

9.50 Overall the quality of the housing provided through both LA tenancies and RDG service was viewed as high. Although many of those rehoused in the private sector would have preferred a council tenancy, it was appreciated that they had enjoyed a degree of choice which would otherwise have been unavailable.

Case 13: I have lived in [name of resort town] all my life and wanted to stay there of course. I was told I would have to wait 35 years for a house in [home town] and I think I will be dead by then. I was phoning lots of agencies [social work, housing offices, and RSLs). Eventually someone suggested the RDG scheme to me (31 plus two children)

9.51 Case 10 left her LA tenancy following harassment and intimidation by a local drug dealer:

I chose to go for the [ RDG scheme] rather than council housing. Council housing was poor quality. With the [ RDG scheme] you have a much better choice of housing and a choice of locations (single parent, 42) [on moving to her second RDG scheme tenancy]

Case 20: After being at my mum's for a year, a friend mentioned the rent deposit scheme to me. The difference between them and the LA [homelessness caseworkers] was amazing. They were just brilliant. I explained the situation. They said that this [being put in bad area] would not happen with us. They said I would have a choice of where to live and what type of house (46 plus one child)

Role of other agencies

9.52 Across the sample the LA was generally the respondent's main point of contact in seeking help with housing problems. As a rule, other agencies were contacted for additional advice or help only after an initial contact with the council. The 'other agencies' mentioned most frequently included:

• Youth advice service
• CAB
• Housing advice services
• Registered social landlords.

9.53 For example, a number of respondents sought help from external agencies to assist with appeals (both in relation to the refusal of tenancy offers and homelessness assessments). As noted earlier, agencies sometimes played a key role in making referrals to RDG schemes.

9.54 RSLs were generally contacted to make a housing application and a number of respondents were registered on such lists at the time of their interview.

Impact and outcomes

9.55 In all 26 cases examined, the service user can be described as having avoided actual homelessness and, in this sense, a positive outcome was achieved. In saying this, however, a distinction needs to be made between the interventions which prevented the occurrence of homelessness, on the one hand, and those targeted on people who had already become homeless and been subsequently rehoused in a council tenancy, on the other. For this latter group the effectiveness of the 'homelessness prevention intervention' will become fully apparent only at a later stage. This observation applies to Cases 1-4 where help provided to young people newly rehoused in council tenancies was aimed mainly at maximising their chances of avoiding future homelessness.

9.56 In most cases where homelessness had been actively prevented via RDG schemes the help provided by the LA (or other service provider) appeared to have been crucial in securing this outcome. Interviewee responses suggested that households lacked the knowledge, confidence and finances to have accessed a private tenancy without such help.

9.57 For young people returning to the parental home, however, the effectiveness of LA intervention in producing a housing solution sustainable in any more than the short term was less clear. None among this group reported having received any additional or ongoing support following their encounter with homelessness staff. Interventions in relation to this group had not always had an entirely positive impact. One young person reported that, on returning home, the relationship with her mother had improved. However, she was unsure how long this improvement could be maintained. Following what was described as a negative experience, one young person felt unable to return to the LA in the future:

Case 25: They were just not really very helpful. Now I just feel like I do not want to go back (single, 18)

9.58 Another young person had simply accepted the fact that the LA could not help her:

Case 26: I have been back to the housing department, but they say all they can offer me is the hostel. That is the only option. They said to join the [housing waiting] list but I have decided not to bother. I went to the local RSL instead (17, single)

9.59 For young people allocated council tenancies, both outreach support and help in obtaining furniture were reported to have had a strongly positive impact. The young people concerned were generally confident about sustaining their tenancies in the future.

9.60 As noted earlier, in some cases respondents had generally approached their LA only when homelessness had already occurred or was imminent. Even in these circumstances homelessness prevention services can play a part in resolving and dealing with the situation. For one service user, domestic abuse had resulted in her presenting at the Police station. Following this, she was referred to the local youth housing support service:

Case 1: I was happy to take the support being offered to me [through residential and outreach youth support]…they helped me so much. It was not so much about keeping my new home, but about giving me the emotional support to 'move on'. They also helped sort out what benefits I was due and how to manage my money myself. My partner had always done this before so I needed help with this. I am continuing to receive outreach support; just a meeting once a week. But it helps to talk and raise any emerging problems you are having (21, single)

9.61 Of the 15 RDG service users, around half (8) saw the outcome as a 'permanent solution' for them. Even so, such respondents expressed some concerns around this:

Case 8: it is a permanent for the moment, yes (41, single)

Case 14: [after pause] permanent at the moment, I don't have many points at the LA for anything else (33 plus two children)

Case 20 (who had moved from her initial private rented housing after the landlord had to sell): it is as permanent as at can be within this sector (46 plus one child)

9.62 The other seven RDS service users, despite achieving a positive outcome (in that they obtained housing) saw the arrangements as only temporary:

Case 9: yes it is temporary; ideally I would like to be in a council house. That is were I see myself hopefully in the long term (33, single)

Case 12: I am only in temporary accommodation after all. The landlord could sell this house at any time and want me out. I am on the list for LA housing for [name of local authority], but I will have to wait for 15 years. It is even worse as I can't be on the Glasgow list at the same time. Anyway, GHA might offer me housing the other side of Glasgow and that would be no use (18 plus one child)

Case 15: it is temporary I suppose, I would like to get back into the council sector (40 plus one)

9.63 Although RDG schemes afforded service users choice of location, the private rented sector was described as having two main limitations - the inability to decorate and refurbish the accommodation, the time limited tenancies. (Absence of the right to buy was not mentioned).

9.64 Among the young people, those who had successfully accessed their own LA tenancy (including those accessing the furniture initiative) considered their housing circumstances to be permanent. Also as might be expected, those making a return to the parental home all described this outcome as temporary. One young person expressed disillusionment:

Case 25: It could have been worse I suppose. They got me back home [but] the LA just did not have any choices for me. Where I am is fine at the moment [in terms of relationship with mother] but you just can't tell what will happen (18, single)

9.65 Interviewees were finally asked whether they currently felt at risk of homelessness. Perhaps surprisingly only six stated that this was so - four RDG service users and two who had returned to the parental home. A further two young people who had returned to the parental home felt unsure about whether they were at risk of homelessness.

Chapter summary

9.66 Among 26 households logged as 'homelessness prevention service users' around half saw the council's intervention as having helped them to resolve their housing problems; two said that intervention had definitely not helped in this way. Notwithstanding concerns about the sustainability of 'solutions', only six felt 'currently at risk of homelessness' at the time of their interview (usually 1-3 months after 'receiving the service').

9.67 Experiences among RDG scheme users tended to be generally positive. Respondents appreciated the wide ranging assistance typically provided by RDG staff, though they were not entirely uncritical (see below). Most RDG service users appeared to lack the knowledge, confidence and finances to have accessed a private tenancy unaided. RDG intervention was, therefore, vital in helping service users avoid homelessness.

9.68 Among young people 'helped to return to the parental home', however, the council's action in facilitating this outcome tended to be seen as largely negative in denying them access to social housing whilst providing little in the way of mediation or other ongoing support. Some had been advised by council staff that the alternative of entering institutional accommodation would expose them to unpalatable behaviour on the part of other residents and could place them at risk of being drawn into undesirable lifestyles.

9.69 Outreach support provided to young people to promote sustainment of council tenancies was generally viewed very positively and the recipients were optimistic about their ability to retain such tenancies.

9.70 Mixed feelings on the part of some RDG service users usually reflected dissatisfaction in dealings with homelessness casework staff, contrasting with positive experiences of help from RDG officers. A significant number valued the housing choice afforded through this route - aware that accessing a council tenancy might mean having little or no say in the property offered. Around half saw their private tenancy as constituting a 'permanent solution'. Others, however, saw this housing outcome as definitely 'second best' and continued to aspire to a council tenancy.

Table 9.4 - Summary of service user experiences

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