Homelessness drop 'may reverse'

More than 1,300 Welsh households are classed as homeless

The head of the charity Shelter Cymru says a fall in homelessness may not continue, as the recession bites.

Official figures show the number of households considered homeless has dropped by 21%, compared to the same period last year.

But Shelter Cymru director, John Puzey, says the number of requests for help from his organisation is increasing.

It comes as the assembly government unveiled its plans to assist homeowners facing house repossession.

The Mortgage Rescue Action Plan pledges easier access to debt advice, training for front-line housing staff, and what the assembly government said was the development of a new "national financial inclusion" strategy.

The Deputy Minister for Housing, Jocelyn Davies said: "The growing number of repossessions is a matter of concern for us.

'At risk'

"We are working hard to try to minimise the impact in Wales and to support families and individuals who are faced with extremely difficult circumstances. I hope that this plan will help them to find the help they need."

But with an estimated 2,250 repossessions anticipated by the end of 2009, Shelter Cymru said it feared the current trend in the fall of homeless families could be reversed.

Latest figures released show that 1,334 households are considered to be homeless in Wales at the end of March.

It is a 7% drop from the last quarter of 2008, and down just over a fifth from the level in January to March 2008.

The number of households in temporary accommodation has also fallen slightly, to 2,823.

"Unfortunately, I think these figures are the bottom of the trend, and we will see an increase in the number of people losing their homes," warned the Shelter Cymru director.

"People in difficulty due to the recession, those who have lost their jobs, they are really struggling to hold on to their homes.

"We are seeing people here who are in mortgage arrears, and they are telling us that they are trying everything to keep their home, but they are running out of options."

His comments comes as Shelter Cymru holds its annual conference in Swansea, where themes include examining proposals for a 10-year homelessness plan currently being prepared by the assembly government.

"We need to ask whether we can deliver that plan, and whether we can deliver it without additional resources," added Mr Puzey.

Focus

Another theme will be tackling bureaucracy in homelessness services.

Mr Puzey said he felt that too often, local authorities across Wales invested too much time and energy in form-filling and assessing homeless individuals.

"Perhaps the focus should move more to actually finding homes for these people," he said.

The conference will include workshops with the Dutch action group, the Kafka Brigade, a non-profit organisation that sets out to challenge overpowering officialdom.

"They will be on hand to outline their unique approach to cutting through red tape," added Mr Puzey.