Award-winning charity StreetVet enters its 4th year in providing its Accredited Hostel Scheme to temporary accommodation providers across the UK. In this guest blog, they reflect on their successes in keeping those experiencing homelessness and their pets together.

StreetVet now has 24 accredited hostels and temporary accommodation sites in multiple locations including London, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Devon, Cornwall, Cambridgeshire, West Midlands and Sussex. The scheme provides benefits and invaluable support to temporary accommodation providers. These include, but are not limited to:

  • The provision of pet essentials, including food
  • In-practice veterinary diagnostics and surgery
  • A 24-hour emergency freephone number
  • Staff training and education and
  • A pet policy and owner contract.

The scheme has also recently started offering behaviour and responsible pet ownership courses to StreetVet registered clients living at their accredited sites.

Over 70 pets have received the support of StreetVet via the accredited hostel scheme alone since the initiative began back in 2020. Feedback from temporary accommodation providers that have reaccredited with the scheme has been incredibly positive.

“We think the StreetVet Accredited Hostel Scheme is absolutely fantastic and is definitely something that all accommodation providers should consider in terms of being able to justify housing individuals with pets.”

“The scheme has allowed us to take pets into our care with their owners and helped us to provide the support needed. It means the pets in our care are well looked after and the clients can manage pet ownership. It has had a really positive impact on our service and on our clients and their pets.”

As of October 2023, StreetVet is working to onboard another 56 accommodation providers wishing to join the scheme, which is going from strength to strength. Through StreetVet’s Accreditation Scheme, any temporary accommodation provider can keep people and their pets together. This can be the first step to leaving the streets for good.

If you would like further information about the scheme or to take the first steps to becoming a StreetVet accredited site, please email: hostels@streetvet.org.uk

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