Durham Community Action are working with Durham County Council to offer this session, delivered by Kelly Hailes, Housing Partnerships Coordinator at Durham County Council, which provides an introduction to the Duty to Refer (DTR) process. It is designed to help professionals identify, refer and support individuals who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Topics covered include:

• An overview of the Duty to Refer, its purpose and the requirement to obtain service user consent.
• The public authorities that have a statutory duty to refer.
• How to identify when an individual is homeless or threatened with homelessness.
• Understanding local connection and how this may affect the homelessness duties owed by a local authority.
• How to use the North East Duty to Refer Portal.
• What happens after a referral is submitted.
• An overview of priority need, homelessness pathways and accommodation options.
• Common barriers to accessing accommodation.

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and discuss practical issues relating to the referral process.

This session is particularly valuable for frontline practitioners who work with vulnerable individuals and may be in a position to identify housing issues and prevent homelessness before a crisis occurs.

This event will take place online, and joining instructions will be sent prior to the session. 

Attendance is free, although booking in advance is required to secure places.

For any enquiries, please email susan.garrett@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk

We want you to have a positive experience of this event. Please tell us about any communication, accessibility or other needs that we should be aware of.