As part of our Vision 2030, we are committed to eliminating the need for homeless residents to be placed in temporary accommodation outside of Elmbridge. Due to the shortage of temporary accommodation within the borough in some cases homeless individuals and families are placed in units outside of Elmbridge until we can arrange accommodation within Elmbridge. As you can imagine this can be a very worrying and unsettling experience and more than ever people who never expected to can find themselves facing homelessness, which is why it is important they stay close to family, friends, and schools, while they get back on their feet.
While housing association partners provide the majority of temporary accommodation in Elmbridge available for homeless households, the council owns five temporary accommodation flats in Thames Ditton, with eight solo units soon to be available in Esher, adjacent to the Civic Centre and the Surrey Police offices. The individual solo units will provide safe homes for single households on an interim basis until more settled accommodation becomes available. We are also working with our partners to provide additional assistance to the households so they can feel safe and supported. Additionally, we are also purchasing properties to increase our availability of temporary accommodation in Elmbridge.
At the end of December 2022, we had 89 households in temporary accommodation, of those 37 were in accommodation outside Elmbridge. Everyone deserves a safe and decent place with a roof over their head and we are determined to help those who are in need and vulnerable.