The plight of homeless people in Carlisle will take centre stage next week in a series of special events organised by Cumbria County Council.
According to the latest government figures, 57 households were homeless in Carlisle during October to December last year.
The county council's Supporting People partnership has joined forces with Impact Housing and other local organisations to help to raise awareness of the problem and give people who are or have been homeless the chance to influence and shape polices in the future.
Next week's events are open to everyone and begin on Wednesday 4 April at Tullie House where from 2:00pm people will be able to watch a short film about the life of Adam Slade - a Carlisle man whose seemingly idyllic life was torn a part by a drug addiction which eventually forced him onto the streets.
Attached is an article about Adam who is available for print and broadcast interviews.
At 2:30pm on the same day, Tullie House will host an open question and answer session where people from the city will have the chance to quiz a panel of experts from a range of organisations including Cumbria County Council, the homeless charity Shelter, Impact Housing, Carlisle Housing Association, Cumbria Police, Community Projects Carlisle and Carlisle City Council.
On Thursday 5 April, events move to St. Martin's College in Carlisle where a special workshop session is being held. Here, people will be invited to suggest their own solutions to some of the issues raised at the previous day's question and answer event.
During the session, which begins at 1:00pm, people will also get to vote on the what they see are some of the most pressing solutions to the problem.
Those attending will also get the chance to elect three people who have experienced life on the streets, to a special user group which the county council's Supporting People partnership will consult with as it develops policies to help homeless people across Cumbria.
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337
Notes
Government figures show that in the period between October and December 2006, there were 161 households accepted as homeless in Cumbria, split as follows:
Allerdale - 32 (0.8 per 1,000 households)
Barrow - 26 (0.9 per 1,000 households)
Carlisle - 57 (1.2 per 1,000 households)
Copeland - 9 (0.3 per 1,000 households)
Eden - 8 (0.4 per 1,000 households)
South Lakeland - 29 (0.6 per 1,000 households).