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The need for information

Published by Beth Peakall on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 4:33 pm

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I read with interest the story “Authorities’ secrecy puts staff in peril”, as this happened to me. We wound up rehousing a good chunk of the drug dealers and ASB cases for a local authority in a new area. Needless to say, this caused mayhem for months. The local authority did admit it had placed their “problems” with us, but there was no offer of help. When I worked in a direct access hostel, I encountered similar problems.

There are a number of issues here. One is the truth that those “problems” need housing - but there is little out there to meet their needs. Second, under the Data Protection Act, sharing information has become very difficult. Third, staff need the training and back up to deal with these challenges - and lastly, a serious risk assessment and commitment to making housing jobs safe needs to be made. It’s time we decide that staff safety matters the most.