Find a Place - Brent Council campaign

Today, Brent Council has launched a campaign called 'Find a place you can afford' to raise awareness of the reality facing the thousands of homeless households in Brent and encourage families to take control of their housing situation and work with Brent Council to improve the situation for them and their families.

Despite building more new homes than almost any other borough in the capital over the past decade, Brent is facing a homelessness emergency.

Brent has experienced a 23 percent increase in the number of homelessness applications – up from 6,000 to more than 7,300 – over the past three years. Each week, an average of 140 households are becoming homeless in Brent. Of all homeless households, around half are trapped in very basic and costly ‘temporary’ accommodation. 
This is not a problem unique to Brent. Government data shows that London accounts for 57% of England’s total number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation.

Rather than being stuck in basic temporary accommodation for years on end, which we know is not good for health or educational outcomes for children, the Council is advising homeless families to take control of their housing situation and work with them to find a place they can afford today. They will be able to help families financially to secure a home, ensuring that the rental property is safe and checking that it is affordable in the long-term.

This week, they have launched a video, information booklet and webpage with more information about the ‘Find a Place’ campaign. 

Learn more at www.brent.gov.uk/findaplace