Homeless Mental Health Warning

A mental health epidemic looms as evictions and house repossessions dramatically increase the number of people likely to become homeless.

Three agencies which worked together to prevent homelessness, have piloted a way to reduce the stress of people facing eviction and to address the often very complex, issues and problems which surfaced with each case.

South West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership, Govan Law Centre and Money Matters, Money Advice Centre combined in an s.11 Partnership – named after section 11 of the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003, which comes into force on April 1.

Because the person in difficulties was seen by the same professional from the beginning, trust was gained and the clients all praised the help they had received. ‘It was so good to have someone on my side,’ said one. ‘They helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel,’ said a young mum.  But almost everyone developed mental or physical illnesses as a result of facing homelessness.

The s.11 Partnership saved the public purse between £24,000 and £80,000 per client and up to £7,000 per client in NHS spend. But their report ‘Prevention of Homelessness Partnership Evaluation’ by Danny Phillips Associates published at the beginning of February stated that the s.11 Partnership is not sustainable if voluntary organisations such as theirs have to supplement the costs from reserves.

*In January the s.11 Partnership recorded a 66% increase in their workload with 501 new cases of potentially homeless people asking for help.