Mental health the focus of eviction prevention plan

Mel Dunn, of Honeycomb, said mental illness was a key factor in anti-social behaviour

A housing support scheme has launched with the aim of preventing people with mental health issues from being evicted.

The service from Revival, part of housing association Honeycomb, seeks to work with tenants in north Staffordshire to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The organisation, based in Stoke-on-Trent, said many of the problems occured as a result of residents’ unresolved issues.

As part of the service, Revival will liaise with those responsible for incidents to work out how their problems can be overcome.

Mel Dunn, Honeycomb’s executive director of wellbeing and support, said that mental health was often a major factor in instances of anti-social behaviour.

“I know that anti-social behaviour can have a huge impact on communities. In our experience we’ve found that it usually occurs because those responsible have their own unresolved support needs, usually mental health,” she said.

“These issues can impact someone’s ability to do everyday things, making it harder to maintain their home, or be a good, considerate neighbour.”

Julie Russell, head of support and wellbeing at Revival, told BBC Radio Stoke that the main objective was to prevent people losing their homes as a result of their difficulties.

She said: “They might be anti-social, they might cut themselves off and not engage with other services trying to help them or they might not speak to their landlords about their tenancy.”

She added the support included ensuring people had access to the right mental health services and medication as well as helping them maintain their home.

It can also involve helping residents to connect with their communities to improve their social lives.