New home for town’s vulnerable

The home, on Rawcliffe Street, will provide support to up to 23 adults, who will be referred from Blackpool Youtherapy counselling service and Blackpool Fulfilling Lives, which helps those experiencing homelessness, reoffending, problematic substance misuse and mental ill health.

It will have its official grand opening on August 16.

Nicola Middlehurst, of Creating Change Housing, which runs the property, said: “We are trying to give people the practical skills and the support to learn how to do things for themselves, so they can move forward in their lives.

“It’s going to be personalised support, so it all depends on people’s needs. They will be taught how to do everything from managing their own budget to getting into training, education or employment.

“Our hopes are that if we can start giving people the necessary skills, we can tackle the problems that cause people to end up homeless in the first place.

“We want to give them a place to tackle their problems, whether that’s alcohol dependency or just if they haven’t finished their education.”

The home will also provide accommodation to Blackpool residents who find themselves facing homelessness but have not lived in the town long enough to qualify for council help.

Currently, the register for affordable housing is only open to people with a local connection to Blackpool, Fylde, or Wyre, meaning they must either work here or have lived here for three years.