One Stop Shop for housing support is officially launched
Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Public Sector Housing and Tenant Engagement, Margaret Wilkinson, recently attended the launch of the County’s One Stop Shop for housing support.
Located on Holton Road in Barry, the shop is operated in partnership with Pobl, a not-for-profit organisation that supports communities in Wales.
It has actually been operating since April 2020, but because of the pandemic the official launch had to be delayed.
During that period, the service as helped more than 2,000 people by offering advice and support on housing options.
Cllr Wilkinson and Council Leader Lis Burnett were given a tour of the premises, which contains meeting pods, ICT facilities, a training room and Pobl staff on hand to assist with queries.
“It was fantastic to visit the One Stop Shop for its official launch,” said Cllr Wilkinson.
“Providing people with suitable accommodation is of paramount importance to the Council and this facility helps
enormously with that aim.
“Sadly, since the pandemic, the numbers of people requiring support of this type has increased significantly so this service has never been more valuable.
“I’d like to thank Pobl for their help with this venture and in particular praise the One Stop Shop staff for the
incredibly worthwhile work they are doing.
“Thousands of people have already been helped by this service and thousands more will be in the future.”
Funded by a Welsh Government Housing Support Grant, the One Stop Shop operates on a drop-in basis, either
in person or by telephone.
Service users can get help to:
• Prevent homelessness
• Manage a home or tenancy
• Deal with a housing crisis
• Budgeting
• Understand and make welfare benefit applications
• Understand correspondence
• Learn about other relevant agencies
From this month, the One Stop Shop opening hours will be extended to cover 9am to 6pm from Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4pm on Fridays and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.
When an individual requires longer term support, they are referred to the Council’s Supporting People Gateway.
Lorraine Griffiths, Pobl Area Manager, said: “Last week the long-awaited launch took place, and we were able to showcase the amazing work of the staff. Pobl would like to thank our staff and the Housing Support Grant team for their support with the project that ensures we can deliver immediate support to anyone that needs our services.”