“In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.”
Anatole France, 1894
If you live in Lewisham and claim the Local Housing Allowance to cover your rent you can claim £118.87 per week for the “shared accommodation rate”.
If you put that amount into RightMove you do not get a single property returned. There is nothing available.
So what kind of advice can we give people who want to find somewhere to live?
It’s fair enough for organisations like HomelessLink, Crisis and Shelter to argue for an increase in the amount people are given to cover their rent, but 999 Club is concerned with supporting individuals to escape the experience of homelessness. Here and now.
So the question is, what type of advice and support can you give when it looks like someone does not have many options?
The main thing we focus on is increasing people’s options.
This might mean working with people to increase their income. That might be through finding paid work or maximising their benefits. We have supported 5 people into paid work in the past month. That could be through our local connections or through trusted partners such as Lewisham College or Lewisham Works.
It might also mean mediating with landlords, friends or family, so that people are given extra time in their current home before they are evicted. We have supported 18 people to avoid homelessness in the past month.
It might mean supporting people to navigate the complexity of the housing system. In this respect, as in so many parts of life, it’s not what you know but who you know. We have partnerships with local landlords and have been able to find tenancies for 5 people in the last month and we are knowledgeable about local policies so have been able to find 7 people temporary accommodation and 2 people social housing in the past month.
While increasing people’s options is important, the long-lasting impact of 999 Club’s work is not only in what we do but how we do it. Our focus is on providing welcoming, friendly and empowering support. Many people who use our services have had traumatic experiences which have been compounded by poor treatment by services which are transactional and focused on completing processes and tasks and not on treating people in a compassionate manner.
There is a good chance that the people who use our services will face difficulties in their future. Life does not always go in a straight line but if people come away from 999 Club feeling better able to navigate what life throws at them, then they will have a better chance.
This was expressed better than I ever could, by someone who recently used our services and left this comment:
