Advice for vulnerable residents and young people
On this page you can find housing advice for:
If you are at risk of becoming homeless, or are already homeless, please read our homelessness advice page for more information. You can call 01954 713 000 or email housingadvice@scambs.gov.uk to speak to a housing advisor.
Report a safeguarding concern
If you would like to report a safeguarding concern about an adult or a child that is not one of our council tenants, please contact Cambridgeshire County Council. You will need to select adult or children to report your concern.
If you feel that someone is at immediate risk of harm or neglect then please contact the police on 999.
Please see the Cambridge County Council's website for further information on safeguarding children and child protection and adult safeguarding.
Prison release and Youth Detention
You may be at risk of homelessness if you have no accommodation to return to (or cannot safely return to) on your release, if your release will occur within 56 days.
You can approach any local authority in England, and make a homeless application. We will assess your needs, and provide a Personal Housing Plan. This plan may contain some of the options below:
- hostels: there is a hostel in Cambridge that locally-connected single homeless people can go to. It is called Jimmy’s, and is located at 1, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1BD. Once you are a guest at Jimmy’s, you can be considered for ‘move-on’ supported accommodation
- single homeless service: this service links eligible single people to rooms in shared houses. You will need to undergo a detailed assessment for your suitability
- housing register (Home-Link): through the housing register we can help you with a deposit for rented properties and refer you to our Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme
- employment and training: we can refer you to New Horizons or CHS Group, for targeted help with getting you job-ready.
If no suitable accommodation can be found within 56 days, we will consider whether they owe a duty to offer accommodation. You can be eligible for this if:
- we decide you are in priority need
- you are not homeless as a direct result of something you have deliberately done, or not done.
If you knew that your offending would result in the loss of your last settled home, you may be considered to be ‘intentionally homeless’. This means we would not have a duty to provide housing directly.
Young people who are leaving care
There are many organisations ready to support young people who are leaving care:
- Cambridgeshire County Council Leaving Care Team: you are entitled to this support if you are up to the age of 21 (or longer, if you are in full-time education) or you have been 'Looked After' for 13 weeks from the age of 14, and for at least a day following your 16th birthday. The Leaving Care Team is based at Scott House, 5 George Street, Huntingdon. PE29 3AD, and can be reached on 01480 372463
- Staying Close, Staying Connected: a project focused on supported young people leaving residential care in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The project provides Moving On Houses and work with care leavers up to the age of 25 and help with training and employment opportunities. You can contact the team on 01603 670 100 or by emailing scsc@break-charity.org
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Centre 33: an advice service for anyone under 26 years old. They are located at 33 Clarendon Street, Cambridge. CB1 1JX and are open Monday to Wednesday 10am to 5pm, and Friday to Saturday 10am to 1:30pm. You can contact them on 01223 316488.