When you become a care leaver, your PA will support you with where you live. There are a range of options available, and some of these options will depend on your age.
Some of the housing options are semi-independent accommodation (where support for independent living is available on site), ‘staying put’ (staying with your foster carer after you turn 18), and your own property.
We regularly review the accommodation needs of care leavers to ensure there is sufficient, suitable accommodation available to meet demand. This includes analysing the number of young people expected to leave care, their age profiles, support needs, preferred locations, and accommodation aspirations.
Housing capacity and availability are monitored jointly by Housing and Children's Services to identify gaps in provision and inform commissioning and service development. We ensure accommodation pathways are responsive, person-centred and capable of meeting the diverse needs of care-experienced young people, including those with disabilities, mental health needs, parent and child responsibilities, risks of homelessness, or those returning to the borough.
This is our ‘early intervention’ panel which meets every month and brings together professionals from different services, including Housing, to help young people get the right support as early as possible. If you are experiencing challenges such as being at risk of homelessness, difficulties with your accommodation, anti-social behaviour, or other issues affecting your wellbeing, your Personal Adviser (PA) can discuss your situation with the panel. By working together, we can identify the support available, find solutions early, and help you stay safe, stable and on track to achieve your goals.
As a corporate parent, Wigan Council has a duty to care leavers and we must act in your best interests as well as consider your views, wishes and feelings in all housing-related decisions
If we think it is appropriate for you to have your own property, you will be awarded ‘Group A’ on the housing register to get priority. Your PA will support you with the bidding process.
When your own property is available, we will ensure that it is decorated throughout and this will include carpets and curtains or blinds and we will automatically refer you for Tenancy Support and offer you training on what it means to be a tenant.
Care leavers are provided with a First Homes Grant to make sure that you have all essential items for your home to be ready to live in. Your PA will support you with the use of this grant.
We will automatically refer you for Tenancy Support and offer you training on what it means to be a tenant.
The Tenancy Support Officer will work with your PA to provide the support that you need and to make sure that we do not duplicate or interfere with your personal choices.
Your Tenancy Support Officer can support with:
- Preparing to move into your new home
- Budgeting in your home
- Dealing with officials
- Being a good tenant
- Being a good neighbour
- Looking after yourself
- Keeping safe
- Confidence building
- Anything that helps you to become a successful, settled, contented tenant and to fulfil your potential
As well as being there for you when things do go wrong – helping you to make a plan to get things back onto the right track.
You can contact the Tenancy Support Team via email at [email protected] or alternatively by phone at 01942 486353.
Further information on the Tenancy Support Team can we found on our website via Tenant support. If you are living in a Wigan Council Property already and do not have a Tenancy Support Officer but feel you would benefit from this services, then you can self-refer using Tenant support or alternatively by phone by calling the number above.
There can be lots of things to consider when living independently. To support with this, we will:
- Make sure you don’t have to pay council tax until you are 25 if you are living in Wigan
- Provide you with internet wifi for the first 12 months of moving into your first home.
- Supply you with a TV licence for the first 12 months of moving into your first home.
- Provide a First Homes Grant for essential items
- Through the Private Renting Assistance Scheme, additional support can be provided to help meet the costs of up-front rent (when required for a private rented tenancy), and applying care leavers can sign up to the new Tenant Matching Service, so they have the chance of being ‘matched’ to any suitable private rented properties that are made available to the Council
- If you go to university and choose student halls accommodation, we will contribute towards reasonable and appropriate university accommodation costs.
For care leavers looking for student or private rented accommodation, Wigan Council will act as your rental guarantor and cover the costs of an up-front deposit. The Council’s new Guarantor Agreement sets out how we can act as your guarantor and also provides cover (for the landlord or agent) against rental arrears or damage at the end of a tenancy, working in exactly the same way as a traditional cash deposit.
At times, young people may find themselves in a crisis with nowhere to live. We work with our housing team, local charities and hostels to secure temporary accommodation until a permanent home is found.
With Housing, we will jointly identify what emergency accommodation is available this includes, other living arrangements, residential settings, Young Person’s Hub, and other emergency accommodation provided by partner agencies. We do not consider bed and breakfast suitable accommodation for care leavers.
In Wigan our position has always been to support care leavers and to avoid homelessness. We recognise care leavers additional vulnerabilities, life experiences and the lack of family support that many young people can rely upon.
If you are worried about losing your home or have nowhere to stay, your Personal Adviser (PA) and the Housing Team will work with you to help prevent homelessness. We will do everything we can to help you stay in your current accommodation if it is safe and suitable, create a housing plan that fits with your Pathway Plan, and support you to find the best housing option available. We will work with you to explore solutions, help you understand your choices, and focus on achieving the best possible outcome for your future.