Moray Council officers will address school pupils as young as 13 in an effort to tackle a “significant” homelessness problem in the area.
The move was mooted yesterday by the authority’s communities committee as part of plans to reduce the risk of young people ending up on the streets.
Officers already visit the area’s secondary schools and speak to S5 and S6 children about how to manage their finances, and avoid the problems that can often lead teenagers to declare themselves homeless.
But fresh figures have revealed that 41 youngsters aged between 16 and 17 sought help from the council after finding themselves without accommodation across 2015/16.
Head of housing and property, Richard Anderson, said: “Speaking to pupils at the S5 or S6 stage is far too late, we are looking to have staff speak about homelessness to younger people in S3 and S4 now.
“Often we try to get people that age back to their own homes, but that can’t happen if there is any risk to them there.”
Mr Anderson said the council had special shared accommodation residences for younger people at Covesea Road, near Elgin, and at Quarry Hill in Keith.
A report presented to councillors revealed that the council received 536 homeless applications in 2015/16 – down from 562 the previous year.
A 57% majority of the region’s applications came from single people, and 59% of the region’s homeless individuals are aged between 26 and 59.
Almost 30% of applications came from people aged between 18 and 25.