'We need more support for people made homeless'

Gary James said there were many more people needing help

A man who struggled with depression when he was made homeless is calling for more support for people in need.

Gary James, 55, had to leave his home when his marriage broke down earlier this year.

Now living at Elm House, a temporary accommodation unit in Norfolk, he said others also needed help.

“To get people into accommodation like this would be a good idea,” he said.

Gary James is living in temporary accommodation in Thetford after being made homeless

Mr James is just one of a growing number of people who need emergency shelter.

“My anxiety levels went through the roof because I thought I was going to be in a tent on the common,” he said.

“Anxiety and depression is something that most people deal with. But knowing you're homeless and having this place takes a lot of the pressure off."

Elm House, which can host up to 35 people, is owned by Breckland Council to provide accommodation for people who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes.

Local authorities have a duty to provide emergency shelter for homeless households while assessing their cases or finding them more permanent accommodation.

But demand for these places often far outstrips supply.

Elm House in Thetford offers temporary accommodation for up to 35 people

Breckland Council supports about 130 households every night in emergency shelter.

About 50 of these are housed in properties owned by the council while 80 are in bed and breakfast accommodation.

The average cost of B&B accommodation costs the authority about £75 a night, or £525 per week.

Sarah Suggitt is the council's cabinet member for housing and planning.

"Unfortunately, there's a massive need at the moment for places like this," she said.

"We just don't have enough spaces like this to go round. But we need to try to do better and we need to try to do more.”

The authority has just agreed to buy 10 more properties to provide emergency accommodation in the district.

It was able to do this thanks to £1.24m of money from the government through the Local Authority Housing Fund.

But Suggitt said it still would not be enough.

"The support we get just doesn't go far enough," she said. "It hasn't kept up with the demand and unfortunately people are living in really chaotic lifestyles at the moment.

"Funding is always going to be what every council and every department within the council needs just because the demand is so high."

Sarah Suggitt said government funding had not kept up with demand

Breckland Council is not alone in struggling to cope with growing demands to house people who are homeless.

A recent survey by the District Councils' Network showed member authorities reported an average increase of 42% in the number of households in temporary accommodation compared with a year earlier.

It is now calling far greater investment in council housing as well as other types of affordable housing.

The government said the Deputy Prime Minister was developing a long-term strategy to tackle homelessness through a regular cross-government group.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We have inherited record levels of homelessness, including in the East of England, which is having a devastating impact on peoples’ lives and putting pressure on council budgets.

"To tackle this we are giving £17.4m to councils in the East to help them provide better quality temporary accommodation.”