A proposed change to housing benefit rules will spell disaster for many of society’s most vulnerable peopleThe government’s bid to cap housing benefit for social rented properties is one of those policies that sounds,in its dry wording, nearly painless. But listen to Becky Elton talk approximately the child abuse victims she sees, or who are struggling with their mental health,or the veterans who have been sleeping rough, and you net an idea of some of those who will be affected by this nasty chop.
Elton, and 39,is director of housing at Changing Lives – a charity that runs supported accommodation throughout the north-east. The service has 262 beds, and helps more than a thousand people each year: women fleeing domestic violence with their children; severely ill people leaving hospital who don’t have an address to be discharged to, or because their landlord threw them out or they were homeless to inaugurate with; young people – 16 or 17 years old – fresh out of children’s homes or whose foster families are no longer willing to care for them. Supported housing provides not only a roof over people’s heads but anything from counselling to job coaches.
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Source: theguardian.com