Friend in trouble (homeless / no income)

ashcarrot

Right im trying to help out a friend of a friend whos 19 he was doing a course at college but had to drop out because of funds. He's joining the army in January but until then he's effectively homeless and incomeless. He's currently in a Foyer the benefits payed his first month but didn't pay after this and wont pay him income support or housing benefit and couldn;t get a sane answer as to why. He was made homeless due to family problems his mum moving away to a bedsit on support with no room for him and his dad we'll just say they dont get on. I believe he was made homeless in August - Sept. I know he;s owes the foyer now £500 where the benefits office hasn;t payed out and they want him out biut not given him formal notice (how long do they have to give)

So does anyone know of a reason he might no be able to get this support? Im planning on going down there with him and trying to sort it out but if i can get some idea of whats he entitiled to and if i need to push the issue his right etc that would be grea.t

Or any tips etc. I've sorted him with some money short term for abit of food but wanna get him on his feet for these next two months

Fran

He/you need to contact Shelter who will advise on his situation and local options.

Has he got written reasons from the DWP? If so, take them to Citizens Advice or similar.

Oldernotwiser

Everybody I've ever worked with who lives in a Foyer gets their accommodation paid for by benefits; costs are far too high to be paid out of income.

Do you think that he might have made a mistake in his claim? You talk about him not getting IS, which he shouldn't have applied for anyway, so perhaps he's messed the whole benefits application up. He should be claiming JSA and LHA but would only have become eligible for these, I think, since he left college.

ashcarrot

Its certainly possible, its a lot for someone to go through having family problems as well so Im sure he hasnt got it all sorted. Im going down with him tomorrow hopefully. I just want to get a clear picture as much as possible so he's not screwed over. The foyer was supposed to be helping him but it seems the majority of the staff are not interested and are in it for the money.

Oldernotwiser

Most Foyer staff are very caring and involved, but it's a bit of a difficult situation if he owes them this much money.

Of course, you may have only heard one half of the story....

Fran

ashcarrot wrote: »

I just want to get a clear picture as much as possible so he's not screwed over.

You need professional advice - see my link to Shelter above, they deal with homeless and potentially homeless all the time. This is a serious situation and they are the best people to speak to.

Oldernotwiser

Not much point involving Shelter until it's been sorted out what this guy's actually applied for.

Jowo_2

My understanding of LHA/HB is that as long as the applicant has submitted sufficient info, the local council is obliged to give an interim housing benefit payment (also known as payment on account) 14 days after submission. This has to be applied for by the claimant, who needs to have provided sufficient information, and is made until they properly sort out a claim.

There have been posts on this forum by HB/LHA staff that say that though local authorities have a reputation for poor bureaucracy and slow processing of claims, the majority of hold-ups are actually caused by the claimant failing to complete forms correctly, forward necessary information and so forth.

Fran

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Not much point involving Shelter until it's been sorted out what this guy's actually applied for.

He is potentially homeless and Shelter are the experts. They will know what questions to ask him as they deal with this all the time. They should be contacted as a matter of urgency. They have a 24 hour helpline (might be England only).

notlongnow_2

Whats a Foyer??

Alleycat

As Fran has already suggested, please get your friend to contact Shelter or their local Housing Advice agency. If he has applied for Housing Benefit and been refused he will have a decision letter explaining why and/or Shelter/Housing Advice will be able to contact the benefits service on his behalf to check why he has been refused.