New service to help young people find a home
A new service will be available from April for
young people in Bromsgrove District who are looking for a home.
A private tenancy scheme for 18-25 year olds
in the district is to be delivered by local housing charity St
Basils after the charity, which has its local base in Aston Fields,
successfully bid for a contract from Bromsgrove District
Council.
From April the new "mYPlace" scheme will
operate across the whole of North Worcestershire, in conjunction
with Wyre Forest District Council and Redditch Borough Council, to
provide young people opportunities to access more accommodation by
working with more private landlords than ever before. With
joint funding from the three North Worcestershire councils and
Crisis, a national homelessness charity, the scheme is designed to
deliver value for money as well as quality.
Under the scheme young people will be able to
access financial help to find their first month’s rent and a
guarantee for their deposit, enabling them to secure a private
tenancy and will also offer added reassurance to private
landlords.
St Basils will work with young people on the
scheme to ensure that they can budget their outgoings effectively,
to develop their independent living skills, and on anything else to
help sustain their own private tenancy.
Bromsgrove District Council’s portfolio holder
for Housing Cllr Kit Taylor said: "In the current housing climate
we are delighted to be able to provide affordable pathways into the
private sector, which will provide young people with a firm
foundation from which they can build.
“Providing homes in private rented
accommodation gives young people the chance to have more settled,
secure and integrated lives, and co-operation over local authority
boundaries to do this will be of real benefit."
St Basils are a young persons’ charity which
has been working across North Worcestershire since 2009, delivering
housing related support for young people and managing the existing
young persons’ supported housing scheme in Aston Fields.
