About to lose your home

Homelessness: Advice and Support

Housing Advice

If you believe that you have nowhere to live or that you are likely to lose your home, we can offer you practical advice and assistance about the options that may help you to keep your home or prevent you from becoming homeless. We aim to provide opportunities for people to make positive changes to their lives and break the cycle of homelessness.

Our service is available for all customers, including council and housing association tenants, private tenants, lodgers, owner-occupiers and people who do not have a home.

Our aim is to prevent homelessness where it is possible and reasonable to do so. We will work in partnership with other agencies in order to achieve the best possible solution to meet your housing need. Officers will help you stay in your home by accessing services and using interventions such as mediation and debt advice. We will assist you to move in a planned way if you need to leave your home, by encouraging supported housing options and pathways into independent living.

We can help you to find housing in the private and social rented sector and will give you realistic advice about these options. Our Bond Scheme may be able to help you find a home in the private rented sector.

Preventing Homelessness

We aim to provide our customers with a high quality homeless service, which meets Oldham Council’s statutory duties. Our emphasis is to prevent you from becoming homeless by offering early interventions. Our specialist advisors can offer you advice and assistance on a range of housing related difficulties and helping you to find solutions, which include:

Mediation

Money, debt and welfare benefit advice

Disrepair

Eviction and repossession

Domestic Violence

Harassment

Supported housing

Dispute resolution between private sector tenants and their landlords (Tenancy Relations Service)

The Oldham Bond Scheme which helps customers to access private rented accommodation

If you are unable to return to your home on the night, we may be able to help you to find alternative emergency accommodation, such as refuge, Nightstop, family or friends.

We always work to reduce the number of people living in temporary accommodation as this is recognised as being disruptive and not necessarily in the best interest of the customer and their family.

Contact Details

Address: Housing Options Centre, 1 Medtia Square, Phoenix Street, Oldham, OL1 1AN

Telephone: 0161 770 4555 / 07940008834

Email: fcho.homeless@oldham.gov.uk

Out of Hours (Emergencies only) 0800 988 7061

Further Help and Support

Click on the highlighted phrases if you want to be linked to any of the following:

Looking for a new home - Your Options

The Homeless Booklet

Oldham Council’s Homelessness Strategy

Tenancy Relations Service Telephone 0161 770 4463

The Oldham Bond Scheme Telephone 0161 770 3562

Shelter Housing Advice. 0808 0800 444 (lines are open 7 days a week from 8.00am until 8.00pm)

Mortgage Help This site is for those households who are having difficulties when paying your mortgage, and are at risk of losing there home. It provides practical, easy to follow advice and assistance on the steps you can take to help keep your home.

Women’s Aid  Free phone 0808 2000 247 (lines are open 24 hours, 7 days a week)

Greater Manchester Domestic Abuse Helpline Telephone 0161 636 7525

Oldham Family Crisis Group Support for women, children and young people affected by Domestic Abuse through the provision of a 24 hour Refuge, 2nd stage move-on accommodation, Outreach, Children’s Support Worker’s and Helpline.

Support for South Asian Women with mental Health problems through the provision of a residential project with dedicated South Asian workers, helpline and Outreach.

Contact the 24 hour Helpline  on 0161 628 4991 or www.ofcg.org

www.karmanirvana.org.uk Karma Nirvana offers confidential advice for those who are at risk of forced marriage or honour based violence. Telephone 0800 5999 247

www.broken-raininbow.org.uk Broken Rainbow is a UK Base Charity which provides a specialised helpline for LGBT groups who experience domestic abuse. The contact number is 0300 999 LGBT (5428). This telephone service is available on: Mondays, 2pm until 8pm, Wednesdays, 10am until 1pm and Thursdays. 2pm until 8pm.

www.fco.gov.uk The Forced Marriage Unit offers confidential advice and assistance to anyone who is worried about having been forced into a marriage overseas, at risk of being forced into a marriage overseas or is worried about a friend or relative. Telephone 0207 008 0151

www.pawsforkids.org.uk This is a charitable organisation that offers a safe haven for the pets of women and children who have had to leave their home because of domestic abuse. Paws for Kids can also be contacted by telephone on 01204 394 842 or in writing at PO Box 329, Bolton, BL6 7WA

www.thp.org.uk Threshold Housing Project provides supported housing, floating support and learning and development for homeless single people and single parents in Oldham. Telephone 0161 626 0844.

http://www.newcharter.co.uk/  Based next door the FCHO offices at Medtia Square, Aksa can provide housing an housing related advice and support for tenants across all different tenures ( e.g. private rented, lodgers and owner occupiers). For more information about this service telephone 0161 620 2992 or attend their ‘Drop in’ on Wednesday afternoons.

http://www.apextrust.com/Promoting employment opportunities for ex offenders.

www.oldhamcab.org.uk Telephone 0845120 3703. Advisors can offer a range of advice and assistance on housing related issues including welfare benefits, immigration and money management.

www.positivestepsoldham.org.uk Located at Medtia Place, Union Street Oldham, Positive Steps provides an integrated range of services for young people, including Connexions, Oldham Youth Offending Service, Oldham Drug and Alcohol Action Team and Oldham Mediation. Telephone 0161 621 9300

www.depauluk.org Oldham Reconnect is a family mediation service aimed at young people 15 half to 25* who have fallen out, or lost contact, with family or other significant people, and who want help to resolve this. Ways we can help are: Negotiating a return home on a temporary or permanent basis, supporting parents to cope with the challenging behaviour of their young person to prevent them having to leave, or just to re-establish some kind of meaningful relationship where the young person can gain support if needed in the future.

Telephone 07811451648 or email Oldham.reconnect@depauluk.org

 

*(please note priority is given to those under 18)

www.h-2-o.org.uk The Oldham Centre is based at Brunswick House, Union Street, Oldham.  Specialist Advisors can help you to select opportunities about Life Long Learning, training, careers and employment. Telephone 0161 621 9200

http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/. The project provides intensive support to families who are at serious risk of eviction as a result of the anti-social behaviour of a family member. The project offers vulnerable families support to manage better, and challenges inappropriate behaviour explaining consequences, and providing opportunities for change. More recently the project attracted additional funding to develop a Dispersed Service, which provides intensive support for the most high profile families. These families are assisted to move to a new property and given a high level of support from a range of agencies.

Telephone 0161 678 6377 or 652 1223

Email: david.bazell@actionforchildren.org.uk

Click here to download the Action for Children Project Handbook

Click here to download the Action for Children Referral Form

FCHO is committed to providing a high quality service to all its customers. We would welcome feedback from our customers, whether you have a complaint, compliment or suggestion about the service you have received. You can write to First Choice Homes Oldham or alternatively you can email us at fcho.feedback@oldham.gov.uk