Peterborough to receive almost £1.5m funding to support rough sleepers

Peterborough City Council has been awarded almost £1.5m worth of funding to support rough sleepers in the city over the next two years.

Funding has come from the Department of Health’s Office of Health Improvement and Disparities for Rough Sleeper Drug and Alcohol Treatment.

The council will receive £707,12 for the 2023/24 financial year followed by £734,803 for the 2024/25 financial year bringing the total to £1,441,929.

This year marks the third year that the council has been awarded the grant.

The money will go to the charity Change Grow Live (CGL), which the council commissions the deliver the funding locally as an additional component to the Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service which CGL delivers in Peterborough.

The money funds a Drug and Alcohol Rough Sleeping Team comprising of 16 full time equivalent outreach workers, a social worker, prescribers, an EU worker, peer support, data admin and management roles.

The team provides outreach work, harm reduction and helps people to access drug and alcohol treatment and housing.

The team is well established working in close partnership with front line homelessness services and is based at CGL and at Garden House Homeless Day Centre.

CGL support the new Homeless Health HUB and a key partner delivering sessions on the new Health Bus recently been commissioned jointly by PCC and the Integrated Commissioning Board (ICB).

The decision to approve the spend for the next two financial years have been recommended to the council and will become final on Wednesday if not called in by any councillor.