CHORLEY'S homeless are to receive a helping hand from a pioneering new scheme to be launched in the area soon.

National homeless charity Crisis is to set up a new branch of its Smart scheme, which helps homeless people find private accommodation and helps them move back into society.

Releasing details exclusively to the Chorley Citizen, a spokeswoman for Crisis said Chorley had been chosen because it was an area of need.

She said: "The scheme will be only the 12th in the country and will help Chorley's homeless back into a normal life.

"We will find them suitable accommodation, check out the landlord and guarantee a deposit on the property. A team of volunteers will then make sure the client is helped back on to his or her feet by providing support for them.

"Often the people we help are very vulnerable and need to be looked after."

Crisis will also act as a go-between for the landlord and tenant, making sure the tenant is happy with the landlord and vice versa.

The Crisis spokesman added: "Often, the landlord is very wary about letting in people who have been homeless as he has no guarantee that they will look after the property or hang around.

"Smart acts to provide these assurances. If people get themselves sorted in a house they can then start looking for work and generally rejoining society. Once they have a fixed address things become a lot easier for them."

Until recently, homelessness had been considered a problem for the big towns and cities. However, recent reports have highlighted problems in towns such as Chorley and the rural districts.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.