Local MP Greg Hands is celebrating the announcement of a successful Help for Single Homeless Fund project in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The Help for Single Homeless Fund has a clear aim to encourage groups of local authorities to work with local partners (e.g. public health, probation services and voluntary sector organisations) to improve services for single homeless people. The programme aims to help a wide range of single homeless people such as rough sleepers and ex-offenders, and we are sure the Council’s project will make a significant contribution.
The Royal Borough has been awarded £93,750 for 2014-15 working in partnership with the London Boroughs of Ealing, Brent, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow from the new £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fund.
The local project will involve the organisation Homelessness Prevention and Engagement Service (HoPE) who will take referrals from Housing Options, A&E departments, GP surgeries, and Probation of people at risk of rough sleeping. They will run a ‘staging post service’ providing beds for ex-rough sleepers as well as Tenant Training helping formerly homeless people to find accommodation in in the rental sector, informing them about tenant and landlord responsibilities, and teaching skills like rent management and budgeting.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has also been provisionally awarded £156,250 in 2015-16, subject to HM Treasury approval.
Greg Hands said “I am delighted that this new funding will provide much needed help and a fresh start to many homeless people in my constituency. In what is a relatively affluent area of London, homelessness is a problem that is sometimes overlooked, but it is not something we can ignore. I hope these new local projects are effective in helping people turn their lives around. It’s also a great example of how cooperative working between councils in both parts of my constituency and beyond can work in everyone’s best interest.”
The local project is part of wider Government funding of £23million to help the homeless announced last week by Department for Communities and Local Government Minister Kris Hopkins MP. 1600 of the most vulnerable homeless young people in the country will be helped to get their lives back on track with the £15 million Fair Chance Fund, while the £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fund will support around 22,000 single homeless people.
The Single Homeless Fund is about better help for individuals with complex needs. It’s not just about housing – it’s about a more integrated approach with better collaboration between agencies. £8 million has been made available to support around 22,000 people of whom 6,000 will be newly homeless. Over 12,000 of them will be people with 1 or more support needs and around 3,500 will be people with multiple support needs and a history of rough sleeping.
Announcing the 34 winning bids, Homelessness Minister Kris Hopkins said: “This is a vital initiative which will help individuals who are some of the hardest to reach, and who often have complex needs, not just simply a roof over their head. These projects will offer precisely the sort of support that many single homeless people need to help turn their lives around and give them a long term solution that supports their needs.”