Over 8,000 calls made to Bradford housing support service from those facing homelessness
A housing support service in Bradford received over 8,000 calls from people who were either homeless or believed they faced the threat of homelessness during the pandemic.
The calls were made to Housing Options, a Bradford Council run service that offers housing advice and support.
It comes as the Council's Corporate Scrutiny Committee are due to be given a report on poverty in the District.
It is a report usually presented to the committee annually, but this will be the first to take in the impact of Covid-19 and lockdown on the District's poor.
The report says the most vulnerable groups have faced the ''highest sickness and mortality rates, and have also borne the costs of the wider economic, educational, social and cultural impacts of the pandemic.''
At the start of the pandemic the "Everyone's In" programme was launched to provide temporary housing for the homeless.
The report to the committee says that through this scheme the 435 people were supported off the street - of these, 283 were helped to move on to more permanent housing.
The report also details measures taken to reduce poverty during the pandemic. It included 3,000 laptops for pupils to support home learning, 23,000 young people on free school meals were provided with sporting activities over Summer, and £3.7m in a training scheme to help the unemployed get the skills needed to get back to work.
There was also investment of national grants into suicide prevention schemes, improving public mental health, reducing obesity, focusing on inequalities and vulnerable communities.
It also says a "poverty proofing the school day" pilot will be launched in 22 schools this month.
The committee will meet as City Hall on Thursday evening.