Preventing homelessness and rough sleeping across Dorset

Prevention and early intervention are set to be key themes in Dorset Council’s new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, which will be going out to a full public consultation later this year. 

In the past 15 months, Dorset Council has: 

• Opened five high-quality affordable homes for people and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness at Hardy House, Portland 

• Opened with the Salvation Army supported living scheme for 18-25 year olds, who are at risk of becoming homeless at West Farm, to provide a stable and safe environment for the young adults and teach them new skills. 

• Launched 5 new multicoloured self-contained modular flats for former rough sleepers with The Bus Shelter Project to help people live more independently 

• Opened a new supported accommodation service for vulnerable women with experience of homelessness and rough sleeping at The Haven. The new 6-bed housing scheme includes 24/7 onsite support services, delivered by an all-female staff 

Our homelessness prevention performance continues to exceed the national average, and the council is now set to make better use of data to identify households who potentially may be at risk. 

The strategy will build on our prevention work, including our Tenancy Sustainment Service which now includes a new offer to support people’s health, wellbeing and employment. 

Councillor Gill Taylor, Cabinet portfolio lead for Housing and Homelessness, said the recent Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness had introduced a stronger national emphasis on prevention and local accountability with the council expect to move from reactive crisis responses towards a prevention led model. 

Cllr Taylor said she is keen for the development of the new strategy to be as wide as possible: “We will explore the use of Community Conversations with our partners as well as seeking the views of rural communities as well as the traditional pressure areas to the south of the county. 

“We also want to build on the excellent relationships we have with our voluntary sector partners who currently give invaluable rough sleeping support, providing opportunities to help people deal with their current crisis and assist in the development of skills and knowledge to get people back on their feet.”