Team effort is aiming to help homeless
A new approach to halt homelessness and rough sleeping on the streets of Sunderland has been launched.
Sunderland and South Tyneside councils have teamed up to successfully bid for support from the Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Homelessness Prevention Fund.
The external funding of £376,000 over the next two years will be used to help and support those people temporarily without a home, who may face having to sleep rough as a result.
Part of that will be outreach work delivered through leading national homelessness charity Changing Lives, from its Sunderland base at the Old Orphanage Buildings, in thecity’s east end.
Coun Graeme Miller, Sunderland City Council cabinet member for health, housing, and adult services, said: “Sunderland for many years now has been a highperforming authority with regards to its approach to preventing homelessness.
“That said, it is important that we adapt to the changing policy environment we are operating in and, with this in mind, we have reviewed and refreshed our approach to homelessness.
“We are introducing a Housing First approach, which is based on the fundamental principle of everyone having a right to a home; as we believe this will provide better outcomes for people faced with or experiencing homelessness.
“Our successful bid to the DCLG for the additional funding to enable us to do that even more effectively was based on the successful work already going on in Sunderland and South Tyneside to provide specialist housing support to those people who live in our communities but don’t have a home of their own, for whatever reason.”
ChiefexecutiveofChanging Lives, Stephen Bell, said: “The funding represents an innovative partnership across authorities which provide vital support to the homeless.
“Credit to Sunderland and South Tyneside for getting together and supporting a pioneering way of housing rough sleepers through our partnership model of ‘housing first’ for the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Members of both council’s homelessness teams were invited to address a cross-party event hosted by Homeless Link at the House of Lords to promote the various agencies involved in the homelessness sector across the country, and launch a new supported housing strategy.