Many families who had been threatened with homelessness will be spending Christmas in their homes this year thanks to support from a leading Welsh charity.
Shelter Cymru advisers helped around 15,000 people this year, dealing with a total of 22,491 housing or debt related problems and helping to prevent homelessness in 89 per cent of relevant cases.
And with the number of people in housing difficulties in Wales remaining alarmingly high, the charity is expecting 2011 to be even busier.
Director of Shelter Cymru John Puzey said: “Last year, we dealt with a record number of housing problems. We’ve been just as busy this year and anticipate that demand for our services will be even greater next year as cuts to housing benefit and local housing allowance start to kick in.
“Meanwhile, we also have to contend with significant threats to the provision of independent advice services. Budget cuts and the proposed restriction of legal aid funding are a serious blow and mean that many vulnerable people could be denied access to essential independent advice that could help prevent them losing their homes.
“The Welsh Assembly Government has done its best to safeguard funding for homelessness prevention, but the settlement it received from Westminster means that, like everyone, it is having to do more with fewer resources. Our concern is that cuts now will just mean greater costs in the longer term.”
The charity is calling for the provision of independent advice services to be protected as an urgent priority and urging the public to support its work.
“The support we get from the public through donations and fundraising is invaluable in helping us to carry out our work and we really appreciate the efforts people make on our behalf”, said John Puzey.
“There is no doubt that providing early assistance for people in difficulties is far more cost-effective than dealing with the situation once they reach crisis point.
“Besides the distress and upheaval to the families and individuals involved, managing people faced with homelessness puts a huge strain on local authority resources.
“Dealing with a household in priority need costs local authorities around £5,300 per case per year, and this rises to £6,413 for priority need households with children. In the current economic climate, this is a cost that they can ill-afford.”
To find out more about supporting Shelter Cymru’s work, visit www.sheltercymru.org.uk
