Perth and Kinross Council’s homeless services praised by Care Commission

Dec 29 2009 by Katy Gordon, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PERTH and Kinross Council’s Homeless Housing Support Service has received praise from the Care Commission.

The service was awarded two grades of ‘very good’ and one of ‘good’ across the three inspection criteria.

The service provides practical support and advice to homeless adults who are living in temporary accommodation until such a time as they have settled into a longer-term tenancy.

The support is aimed at helping individuals to maintain a tenancy so they do not find themselves homeless again.

The support is provided by two teams working out of Greyfriars Hostel in Perth. One team works with people staying at the hostel and the other with those living in other accommodation.

The areas of work graded as ‘very good’ were quality of care and support and quality of staffing. The service’s quality of management and leadership was graded as ‘good.’

Housing and Health convener, Councillor Peter Barrett, said: "I pledged to make tackling homelessness my top priority when I took on the convenership and I am delighted at the concrete progress we have made – and continue to make.

“The hard work of our staff has transformed the delivery of our homelessness services and put us on the road to successful achievement of national targets for the first time, which is a major achievement. The last few years have seen dramatic improvements in the outcomes we have provided to people who found themselves homeless.

“I would like to congratulate all the Homeless Housing Support Staff on this report and thank them for their commitment and dedication. Helping people into secure tenancies prevents incidents of repeat homelessness, which is vital if we are to continue to reduce the number of homeless people in Perth and Kinross.”