Shelter and the Royal British Legion are working together to ensure veterans in housing need can get expert legal advice and casework support.
The partnership between Shelter and RBL
Shelter and the Royal British Legion have been working in partnership for 8 years. The partnership means RBL staff can refer their service users for advice and casework, consult a specialist adviser from Shelter's Expert Housing Advice Service and access housing and homelessness training.
Referrals for advice and casework
Since 2017, Shelter's Helpline Plus advisers have opened more than 3,500 cases from RBL referrals. The team's specialist housing advisers provide expert legal advice, casework and tailored support on housing issues, homelessness, evictions and more.
The service carries out casework remotely by phone, email and post, meaning people can receive support wherever they are.
Helpline Plus advisers Stuart and Pancham spoke to us about cases they've picked up from RBL, problems they faced and how they reached a good outcome for their clients.
Emergency housing for a vulnerable veteran
Late one evening, RBL sent a referral to Shelter for a veteran who had become homeless after his relationship broke down.
Stuart told us about what happened next.
I picked the case up first thing in the morning and called the client.
He'd left the forces recently, and he was getting specialist support from mental health services for complex post traumatic stress disorder.
After his relationship ended, he'd become homeless and contacted the local council to make a homeless application. He could stay with a friend for a few nights, but after that he would have nowhere to go.
The legal position
A council must provide emergency accommodation when it has reason to believe that someone is eligible, homeless and in priority need. They had accepted he was eligible and homeless, but not that he was in priority need.
Priority need automatically includes people with children, but a single person can still be in priority need. For example, if they are vulnerable because of factors such as health needs, time spent in the armed forces, care or in prison.
The council only needs to have reason to believe for the emergency accommodation duty to be triggered, so this is a low threshold of proof.
What I did
I felt there was reason to believe he was in priority need due to his health and time spent in the forces, so I rang the council straight away. I explained to the housing officer that he would need emergency accommodation once he had to leave his friend's house. I also got in touch with his GP with his written permission to request his medical records.
I contacted the council again to chase up the next day. When they finally responded, they said they didn't think there was reason to believe that he was in priority need.
I received his medical records later that day. I sent them onto the council, and explained again that there was reason to believe he was in priority need. The council therefore had a duty to accommodate.
The outcome
On receiving the medical information, the council finally accepted there was a duty to provide accommodation. They contacted him that afternoon to arrange emergency housing.
I updated the RBL adviser who sent the referral, who was relieved to get a quick resolution. She emailed me to say: 'Fantastic result, and thanks for all your dedicated work. Very much appreciated.'
Helping a veteran into suitable housing
Shelter adviser Pancham picked up a referral for a veteran who was suffering with health problems and disrepair issues.
Pancham told us about his work on the case.
I spoke to the client who explained he had developed serious health conditions, and his home was now unsuitable for his needs. The property also had serious disrepair, and he'd fallen behind with his rent.
He'd applied to the council’s housing register but his application was declined without explanation. RBL chased this up with the council but were stonewalled, so they referred him to Shelter to see if we could help.
What I did
I worked with RBL to gather evidence of his needs and the condition of the property. I also contacted his GP, who provided supporting evidence about his health problems.
I wrote to the council to make a fresh housing register application, highlighting that their original decision was unlawful as he had a clear need to move. The council hadn’t even issued a decision letter, meaning he was denied the right to challenge the decision.
The council didn't respond to the new application straight away, but after I made several phone calls to chase up, a housing officer was finally assigned to his case.
I advocated to the housing officer that he needed to move, using the evidence I'd gathered from the client, social services, RBL and the GP. I argued that he met the criteria for the most urgent need, as per the council’s own allocations policy.
The outcome
After reviewing the documents we’d provided, the council eventually accepted that he had a very high need to move, and placed him into a high priority band on the housing register.
A month later, he called to let me know that the council had provided a suitable property. He was so relieved, he said that he felt that he had got his life back.
