In 2023, we helped prevent 202 people from experiencing homelessness.

Preventing homelessness requires our team to work with people who are at risk of experiencing homelessness, or those who are at risk of repeating their experience of homelessness in Cornwall.

Someone may be at risk of homelessness due to a number of reasons:

Why do we need to prevent homelessness?

The experience of sleeping outside can be dangerous and isolating and can come with a range of short and even long term effects, such as:

• Negative impact on physical health due to unsuitable living arrangements and lack of access to facilities
• Negative impact on mental health due to stress, fear and trauma related to the experience
• Higher risk of becoming a victim of crime and violence, with women being particularly vulnerable
• Lack of access to public services (such as GP services) due to no fixed address

The longer someone experiences sleeping outside, the greater the risk they will have of living without secure accommodation in the long term. Preventing homelessness is one of our key areas because it is better to prevent the experience of homelessness in the first instance, if possible, and find solutions that will keep someone in a safe and suitable environment.

“We work with people at risk to find private rented accommodation, social housing register or refer them into supported accommodation, so that they will never end up sleeping rough.” 
- Nadia Asheg, Outreach Service Manager

What help do we offer?

We work collaboratively to help prevent people from becoming homeless in the first instance, which means we can connect people with services that can support them.

Once a person engages with our outreach service or resource centres, our team can identify solutions to help prevent them from losing their home. We can advise and signpost people to contact dedicated prevention services within Cornwall Council, such as, Nos Da Kernow. However, more complex cases can require extra support from our team such as seeking accommodation, resources and referrals.

We can also help prevent homelessness by:

• Signposting and supporting people to access specialist services: Adult Social Care, drug and alcohol support, domestic violence support and more
• Share advice: budgeting and payment plans, finding private rented accommodation or completing home choice forms, benefits advice
• Provide people with access to essential items and furnishings from charities, foodbanks, second hand shops
• Refer them into Supported Accommodation

We continue to increase the capacity of our own supported accommodation service so that we can respond rapidly to prevent homelessness for as many people as possible.

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Preventing homelessness from re-occurring

“The transition back into housing is a lot for some of our clients, and we do preventative work to stop homelessness reoccurring. We build strong rapports with our clients and when they go into accommodation, they will often return to us when they hit a crisis, which helps to prevent it happening again”
- Faye Hookins, Homeless Support Coordinator

Prevention underpins all stages of support at St Petrocs, with the belief that building support around a person is essential to prevent future homelessness. Our wraparound support runs from the initial contact until they move on from our services.

At each stage, prevention is built into the support:

• Outreach and resource centres: We can signpost and refer people to relevant services and agencies, carry out a needs assessment and support to seek accommodation
• Supported accommodation: Our housing officers offer support and guidance for our residents to develop and sustain skills to live independently
• Vocational Development : support our clients to find their potential by accessing training and ultimately employment

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What should I do if I am at risk of homelessness or sleeping rough?

If you are at risk of experiencing homelessness our services are open to you. Please contact our team at the earliest opportunity by calling our advice line - 01872 264153

“a lot of people won't approach homelessness services until they're homeless, rough sleeping or sofa surfing.” - Faye Hookins, Homeless Support Coordinator

Preventing homelessness is crucial for society, as it preserves human dignity, alleviates the burden on social services, enhances community well-being, and promotes inclusivity by ensuring every individual has a stable place to call home.

Your support invests in prevention, enabling early intervention and vital resources to help individuals avoid homelessness. Thank you for your impactful contribution to ending homelessness before it starts.

Support our work with a regular donation

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*Although our client stories are real, the names and personal details have been changed to protect their privacy.