Funding for ‘groundbreaking’ scheme to tackle homelessness in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will receive around £230,000 to help develop the ‘Housing First’ approach, with the money awarded to Cambridgeshire County Council.

This will enable the council to work with partners to implement the model jointly for the first time across both Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Housing First aims to support people with complex needs who are caught in a pattern of homelessness or rough sleeping. The first step for Housing First is to secure independent, long term accommodation for the individual. Once they have access to stable accommodation they can then be offered intensive support to begin to address their other needs and issues. This support is flexible and not time limited.

The money will be used to establish a team who will deliver the intensive support required to help set up the initiative and to support those needing the Housing First approach. It is estimated that the team will help support around 28 individuals within the first year. Individuals supported will be for whom traditional services have not worked.

Homelessness transformation support

The initiative is part of a wider piece of homelessness transformation work which is seeking to develop more effective approaches to supporting those facing crisis such as homelessness and the other issues often linked to this, such as substance abuse, mental health problems and domestic abuse.

Evidence from across the UK and internationally suggest that the approach can produce better outcomes for those facing crisis. For more information about Housing First visit homeless.org.uk.

The new team will work closely with district and city housing partners across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The one-year funding comes from the Rough Sleeping Initiative and is administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This service will work alongside other initiatives across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough which have also been awarded money from this fund.

Cambridgeshire county councillor Anna Bailey, chairwoman of the adults committee, said: “We’re delighted to hear that we’ve been awarded this funding as it will help us to develop our Housing First approach.

“It is proven to be one of the best ways to help those who are homeless who have complex needs.

“Housing First allows us to deliver services in line with the best practice across the country and enables us to make sure the most vulnerable in our communities can have the chance to rebuild their lives and have a quality of life that many of us enjoy.”

Fenland Council funding

Meanwhile, Fenland District Council has also been awarded £340,320 of funding from the Government.

The money will be used by the council, partner agencies and third sector providers to help vulnerable rough sleepers get the support they need to leave the streets for good. This includes street-based outreach services, emergency accommodation and specialist support to help them rebuild their lives.

This follows Peterborough City Council receiving £700,000 from the same government fund.

Government analysis shows that numbers of rough sleepers are 32 per cent lower in areas that have received funding through the initiative.

In Fenland, funding from the initiative and the Government’s Controlling Migration Fund has helped reduce the number of recorded rough sleepers from 23 to 11 over a 12 month period.

And in the last six months alone, 29 people have been prevented from rough sleeping and 40 people have been supported to apply for Settled Status.

Cllr Samantha Hoy, Fenland District Council’s portfolio holder for housing, said: “I am thrilled that we’ve received extra funding to continue our work with valued partners and deliver much needed help for rough sleepers in Fenland.

“I am proud of what has been achieved so far and really pleased that the outcomes have made a significant impact on vulnerable members of our community. We remain committed as ever to helping people rebuild their lives and ending rough sleeping once and for all.”

In Fenland, the funding will be used to continue the following services until the end of March 2021:

. Homeless day HUB – run by the Ferry Project, the HUB is open seven days a week providing specialist support for all rough sleepers in Fenland, including help with finding accommodation, work and training, mental health support, help with debts and benefits, as well as homelessness prevention advice

. Outreach service – run by CGL (Change, Grow, Live), the outreach service locates people sleeping rough and engages with them, providing bespoke help and support relevant to their individual needs

. Rough sleeper co-ordinator post – covering the whole of Fenland, this post co-ordinates actions for rough sleepers to prevent duplication between organisations

. An additional four beds at the Ferry Project’s emergency Night Shelter.

The funding will run until March 2021. Further discussions between the MHCLG and the council will take place over the coming months regarding continued funding in 2021/22.