City of York Council is asking customers of its homeless service to give their views on the service they received and how they came to be homeless.

It's hoped that the responses will help the authority create a Homeless Strategy for 2008-2013, setting out how the council can support families, couples and individuals who become homeless.

Tom Brittain, the council's Housing Operations manager, said: "When we use the term 'homeless' people automatically think of rough sleepers, but actually the government definition of homelessness is quite dfifferent. What we really mean is people who have lost their home, perhaps because they can't keep up the mortgage repayments, or because they have split up with a partner, and are having to stay on a friend's sofa, with a relative, or in Bed & Breakfast accomodation.

"They're often described as the 'unseen' homeless, because only their close friends or relatives may be aware of their situation. Unfortunately in many cases they don't contact the council or partner authorities for support. We want to try to find out more about how people become homeless so we can try to tailor our services more effectively to reduce the incidence of it happening in the future."

Although the problem is largely hidden in York, over 505 people presented themselves to the council as homeless in 2006, and the authority's homeless prevention team helped prevent 287 people from becoming homeless. 213 households were accepted as homeless.

More information on the questionnaire contact Tim Carroll Homeless Service Manager on 01904 554040 or tim.carroll@york.gov.uk