In December 2016, Miss Stephens found herself unemployed, with a baby on the way, in a property that was in dire need of repairs.
Without deposit assistance, she simply would not have been able to move to a more suitable property. Luckily The Homesavers Charity was able to offer her the gift of a deposit in this time of need.
Three years on, and Miss Stephens is still in her property and is a great tenant. She just needed a helping hand to secure better quality accommodation, suitable for her and her baby.
Ben Hulme, Business Manager explains further; “The beauty of the initiative is that tenants are encouraged to save during the tenancy - to allow them to build up their own deposit for their next place. The gifted deposit is then paid back to the charity to help other similar tenants, so there is a cyclical effect.”
The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) has donated £6,250 to the The Homesavers Charity, based in Wirral, so they can help even more people like Miss Stephens.
The funding will allow the charity to provide deposits to people who are homeless, in danger of becoming homeless or on low incomes, attempting to rent a privately owned property. As winter rolls in, the charity will also be providing cold weather packs to rough sleepers.
Matt Trevett, Managing Director at The DPS, said: “We are proud to support a charity that helps people experiencing very tough circumstances to secure accommodation.”
If you work for, or know of any more fantastic charities focused on the housing sector that would benefit from funding, please don’t hesitate to apply for funding.
Applications for the next round of awards must be submitted by 30 June 2020.