About the client:
The clients are a couple with a young child. The family had been granted refugee status in 2023, but had not been evicted from their accommodation provided by the Home Office due to delays in the system, and had therefore remained settled and begun building a new life in the city.
The situation:
The family had been evicted from Home Office accommodation, but had been provided with temporary accommodation through Southampton City Council. However they had been found to have made themselves homeless and therefore this accommodation was due to be withdrawn. This would have left the family homeless.
Our support:
We worked with the client over a period of weeks to understand why the decision was made to find them intentionally homeless, including contacting the Home Office and Migrant Help to gather the required evidence. We then advocated for the family with the Homelessness team and other departments to challenge the decision that had been made, which was successful. This was in July 2024. We have continued to work with the family to improve their situation with the temporary accommodation and support them to access additional assistance, particularly regarding applying for school travel support for the child due to the distance of accommodation from the school.
Outcomes:
Without our assistance, the family would have been made homeless and would needed to have sought private accommodation. This would have been unaffordable for them at this stage of the process, and therefore the temporary accommodation was necessary to enable them to establish their life in the city. As a result, they are now in the position to start looking for permanent accommodation in Southampton for themselves.
What may have happened if we hadn’t provided support?
The family would have been at risk of homelessness, which would have caused them significant stress and disruption to their lives.