RESIDENTS at a supported housing service could be set to face homelessness, ‘jail or death’ and lose their ‘safe space’.

An ongoing dispute between community interest company (CIC) Elemel and BCP Council has meant the company can no longer afford to keep open its service in Tower Road, Boscombe.

John Keister is one of 16 residents at the service who could potentially lose their homes.

He said: “There’s only going to be two impacts. Jail or death. Simple as that.

“It’s not just about being homeless, I’ve been here for quite a while and I’ve gone through so much, family, dad’s death, so much it could just send someone over the edge.

“These people here, they supported me through what I was doing. It’s not just about housing here. They help us with so much.

“I’m still here, and that’s because of this lot. I’ve people I can talk to, I’ve got that support.”

John added: “This place is my safe haven.”

Bardie Leach said she left prison and was ‘scooped up’ by Elemel.

“There's not a thing that they wouldn't do help, whether it be if you need an appointment with a doctor, dentist support, making phone calls, trying to get you back up, see your families again,” she said.

“It's not like if this place closes, we're all going to commit crimes. That’ll just be the natural progression, really, because when you're on the street, there's nothing left, there's nowhere else to go.”

Nicholas Bailey has been living at Tower Road for around eight months.

“This has been a lifesaver for me. I am bipolar, I'm on medication, I have my ups and I have my downs and this place here has been a life saver for me. Literally,” Nicholas said.

“They actually care for their residents here.

“I know that I would be in a really dark place if I wasn't here right now.”

Bournemouth Echo: Tony Booth, Jo Booth and Michael Parry from Elemel.

Chief executive of Elemel, Jo Booth, said the CIC was owed £1.3million by BCP Council after it alleged the CIC had contrived the rents.

She said the company has had to take the decision to close the scheme as it cannot afford to continue without this money.

Tony Booth, chief operations officer for the CIC said it was able to charge ‘exempt and enhanced rents’ to the council, which covers its overheads including security and staff.

He said the CIC applies to the council for this funding, which the council can then claim fully back from central government as it applies with a registered provider.

“The council turned down our housing benefits commission, saying that basically we've created this relationship so that we can take advantage of the housing benefits system and claim higher the rents,” Tony said.

“Essentially saying that we're not supported accommodation, you're just doing this to claim excessive rents and basically go away. You're not eligible.”

The CIC and the council are set to go to tribunal.

Councillor Kieron Wilson, portfolio holder for housing and regulatory services said the council is ‘currently assessing the housing needs’ of the residents to ‘to help them all to move on to settled accommodation’.

Cllr Wilson said: “Our aim as a council is to end homelessness by ensuring everyone has a safe place they can call home. With a strong focus upon preventing homelessness and rough sleeping, we would never advise rough sleeping as a route to tenancy.

“We work closely with a number of organisations of the Homelessness Partnership to ensure any households threatened with homelessness can access the help they need to keep or find a new home.

“We will also be increasing our own provision of supported housing for people who have experienced homelessness or who are at risk of doing so with £9.9m of government funding recently allocated to BCP Council.

“All BCP residents deserve to live in good-quality homes that are suitable for their needs, and we continue to work in close partnership with companies and agencies who provide this.”