Urgent plans to stop homeless people being separated from pets over fears for mental health

Urgent moves are being made to stop people who are made homeless being forcibly separated from their pets.The explosion in Scottish homelessness has meant a generation of people in temporary homes and hotels - most of which forbid cats.

dogs and other pets.The removal of animals from people in crisis has caused a parallel risk of mental health breakdown in highly vulnerable people.And some have chosen to sleep on streets rather than lose their pets.The Scottish SPCA charity has now formed an alliance with homelessness counterparts at the Simon Community, with both seeking to work with landlords to open pathways for pet owners to stay with cats, dogs and other pets.Scottish SPCA chief executive Kirsteen Campbell said, “Our research shows that 37% of tenants surveyed had to make the impossible choice between a roof over their head and a beloved pet.

It’s a choice nobody should have to make.”“We want to work together and intervene early, to keep pets and people together in a home and not see them end up on the streets."She added: “Our two frontline teams will share knowledge and resources so we can spot the signs when someone is at risk of becoming homeless or identify someone who has pets and is struggling.“This will allow us to get ahead of the problem before an animal, or person, suffers.”“We don’t believe that anyone should have to choose between a pet and a home and, working with Simon Community Scotland, we can make that vision a reality.”Hugh Hill, deputy CEO of Simon Community Scotland said: “We know that owning a pet has a hugely positive effect on your mental health and can be a huge source of comfort and security at a time food, energy and housing costs put pressure on the most vulnerable people in our society.“W