COVENTRY City Council has hired seven new staff members to help to prevent homelessness in the city.
They will be joining the Housing and Homelessness service and will work with people who are already or at risk of becoming homeless.
The new staff tackle issues by helping to support people to stay in their current properties by working with tenants and landlords.
Local housing providers and private landlords will be consulted if this isn’t possible to prevent people from ending up in temporary housing or without a roof over their heads.
The main reasons people use the services are because they have been evicted from privately rented accommodation, are no longer being able to stay with family and have been victims of domestic abuse.
The service prevented 1149 people from becoming homeless last year, more than double the amount achieved in 2019/20.
Customer services manager Mandeep Chouhan said: “We will investigate every possible option to help people remain in their property or if this cannot be achieved we will support them into new accommodation.
“It may be financial or there may be other issues but the most satisfying part of the job is where we make a positive difference in people’s lives.”
Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for housing and communities, Coun David Welsh said: “We are achieving better results and helping more people to remain in their existing homes.
“At the same time, we know that the numbers approaching us for support are increasing, so it’s great to see new officers joining the team supporting those most in need.”
