Homeless Link awards Cold Weather Fund grants to 51 specialist charities

16 Jan 2020 02:08 PM

Blog posted by: Louise Weaver, Thursday, 16 January 2020.

Homeless Link has presented grants from the Government’s Cold Weather Fund to 51 frontline charities across the country, with the aim of supporting as many people sleeping rough off the streets as possible this winter.

A total of £991,509 is being distributed to specialist local charities that are not commissioned by local authorities, but that play a key role in helping to end rough sleeping in their communities. Individual grants were for up to £25,000 with three large grants of up to £50,000 awarded to Changing Lives, Derby City Mission and Thames Reach for projects working across multiple local authorities. The full table of grantees can be found below. 

The charities are using the funding to provide additional accommodation to that already provided by the Local Authority to people sleeping rough, or to enhance the support offered in existing winter night shelters or day services to help secure longer-term move-on from homelessness into accommodation. The funding covers projects running between 1 December 2019 and 31 March 2020.

Several projects will provide additional support for marginalised groups including vulnerable women, people who identify as LGBT+, couples, or pet owners. One project will develop mentoring relationships for women and those experiencing multiple disadvantage, and another will fast-track people sleeping rough into private rented accommodation with financial and personal support. The funding will also help extend existing services’ hours, open new night shelters and warm spaces offering facilities and support during the day time, and employ extra street outreach or support workers.

All projects are operating in line with the following principles of best practice:

• Shelter is immediately available, including to people who are not usually eligible for services, e.g. those with no recourse to public funds
• People are ‘In for Good’ – once a person is supported to access shelter they are not asked to leave until a support plan is in place to end their rough sleeping
• Sustainable routes off the street into longer-term accommodation are offered
• Partnership working occurs with existing services to enhance, not duplicate, provision

Click here for the full blog post