If you think you are homeless, or about to be, and you contact West Dunbartonshire Council to request advice or assistance you will usually be offered an assessment interview with a Homelessness Caseworker. This will help us to assess the best way to help you.
Your assessment interview will be conducted in complete confidence in a private room and you will be asked for personal details relevant to an assessment of your housing and support needs.
For example, you will be asked to provide information about:
You will be asked to provide proof of who you are (passport, drivers licence, etc.), proofs of income and residence as well as other documentary evidence, when this is necessary to process your application.
You can expect to be interviewed by a caseworker who will put you at ease, listen sympathetically to your account of your circumstances and provide appropriate advice and assistance in relation to your rights.
Please request a same sex interviewer if this would be helpful. We would also encourage you to bring a friend, family member, carer or advisor with you to your interview if you would prefer not to attend on your own.
If you are not homeless then the council does not have any duty towards you. You can however still apply for a house with us.
If you are homeless, or about to be, we may use our discretionary power to assess whether you are intentionally homeless.
You are intentionally homeless if you have deliberately done, or failed to do, something that has resulted in you becoming homeless or threatened with homelessness. For example if you were made homeless after being evicted from your house because of anti social behaviour.
If you are assessed as being intentionally homeless you will be offered temporary accommodation (where required) for a reasonable period of time. Your caseworker will give you advice and assistance to finding a permanent house to stay.
If you are assessed as being unintentionally homeless be offered temporary accommodation.
Local connection has been suspended in Scotland therefore this test will not be applied if you are presenting from anywhere in Scotland. We will still however record whether you have a local connection to West Dunbartonshire by the following tests.
You will have local connection to West Dunbartonshire if you:
If you do not have a local connection to West Dunbartonshire and you are from out with Scotland you will be referred back to the council that you have a local connection with.
If you have a local connection or are from somewhere else in Scotland, then you will be provided with temporary accommodation and the council will find you permanent accommodation. This will include referring you to housing associations in the area.
The majority of people who are homeless stay in one of our temporary furnished flats. The council will do their best to accommodate you in an area that is suitable to your needs.
Some people who are homeless are offered supported accommodation if it is felt that need some support before managing a tenancy. West Dunbartonshire currently has a number of support accommodation projects. These include 3 run by Blue Triangle Housing Association and one for younger people run by Action for Children.
You can be provided with temporary accommodation while your homeless application is being assessed and while there is a review/appeal process ongoing.