Imagine leaving all your local contacts behind and not having any idea of how to find help in your new community.
In England, local councils have a duty to assist families with children who are experiencing homelessness. With the long waiting lists for social housing, assisting families can take the form of assistance/encouragement to move to another community while they wait. The council in the receiving community is supposed to be notified, but as an investigation by Ross Kemp ITV found, this doesn’t always happen.
This breach of protocol means families are left to their own devices as they settle in. Read more in The Guardian: English councils breaking law in ‘secretly’ relocating homeless people
This story is a cautionary tale of the limits of local decision making. Despite the specific mandate, local councils often struggle to meet their obligations. Councils in England are good subjects for study as they have recently taken on new powers. In this new world, people who experience homelessness face new and significant barriers. The English experience provides a quick study of the impacts of local decision making for people working to end homelessness in other countries. For a broader discussion of how local decisions are affecting community members who are vulnerable try: Homelessness In England: How Councils And Localism Make It Grow
