Financial boost for Council’s mission to tackle homelessness
Telford & Wrekin Council is to invest another more than half a million pounds as part of our mission to make sure there is no return to rough sleeping.
The funding of £508,929 will allow the council, working with its charity partners, to continue to provide support for those most vulnerable facing rough sleeping. A multi-agency Rough Sleeper task force set up in March 2020 meets daily to monitor and support those presenting as rough sleeping and offering emergency accommodation along with support. This funding will help us ensure “Everyone in” continues and those who were rough sleeping within the Borough are provided an offer of accommodation and, importantly, the support to help them to move on into their own home.
The funding will enable the important work to continue and working with our partners Maninplace, Kip@Maninplace and STAY Telford we can continue with providing outreach work and support, including the identification of those rough sleeping and the accommodating and supporting of clients:
•Tenancy sustainment officers to work with individuals made homeless, or about to be made homeless and help them into longer term accommodation and access the support services they need
•A Rough Sleeper Co-Ordinator, increasing this to a 24/7 service to help clients with complex needs and be the point of contact for all agencies
•An outreach worker, increasing this to a 24/7 service to work with the agencies to support those classed as “hard to reach” homeless people
•A mental health worker to help clients access mental health and GP services, to provide reassurance and be a “caring ear”
•Substance misuse officer to work with the mental health service to ensure clients receive support, advice and medication
•“Urban KiP” – a day service that goes to where the client is
•A Day Engagement Officer to provide support to anyone placed in emergency accommodation the night before.
Councillor David Wright, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for housing said: “This latest funding award recognises the great work the council and its partners have done in tackling and eradicating this issue.
“Since the start of the pandemic we have helped more than 350 clients preventing them from sleeping rough“
“Every day we meet and discuss individual homelessness cases with our partners in our ‘Rough Sleeper Taskforce’ and put together an individual package of support for each person, drawing on all the services and expertise that this additional funding will allow us to continue to do.
“Together with our partners Maninplace, Kip@Maninplace, STAY Telford, YMCA, West Mercia Police, and Public Health we are committed to ensuring there is no return to rough sleeping in Telford and Wrekin.”
The sum of £508,929 is coming from the government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative and will help sustain the in-depth work carried out in Telford and Wrekin up to 31 March 2022.
