Renovated hostel will house rough sleepers
CHARITIES AND COUNCIL GET GOVERNMENT CASH
sleepers are to be housed in a converted hostel.
Mayfield House, in Stoneygate ward, Leicester, will be renovated into bedsits by Action Homeless.
The finished property is to be used to house people with a long history of rough sleeping who might be excluded from other homeless services, Leicester City Council, a partner in the scheme, has said.
This might be because they have mental health issues or a history of substance abuse.
The building is owned by the charity and is used as a hostel. The plan will create 14 en suite rooms which will form three cluster flats with a shared kitchen in each.
The rest of the building will be used as emergency accommodation, tenant support services and staff offices.
The project has been made available after the charity was awarded more than £1.5 million from the government’s Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme.
The council said there will be high-level support available for the residents 24 hours a day.
Mark Grant, from Action Homeless, said: “The funding will enable us to create bespoke accommodation that meets the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in Leicester.
“It will allow us to provide them with personalised support to break their cycle of homelessness.
“We are grateful for the support of Leicester City Council in securing this grant.”
Action Homeless said the building is currently in poor condition and this, coupled with a lack of funding, meant they would have had to shut the hostel had they not secured the cash.
Registered social housing provider EMH Group has also benefited from the government scheme.
It has secured £240,000 to redevelop four flats it owns in Highfields.
These will be used to house people with “medium to high-level needs who can’t manage in tradiROUGH tional temporary accommodation with shared facilities”.
Chan Kataria, group chief executive at EMH, said: “We’re delighted to have worked in partnership with the council and Action Homeless.
“It will allow us to continue the vital work of providing homes and support to vulnerable people with long histories of rough sleeping.
“We’re looking forward to continuing this partnership to make a positive difference to those living in our communities.”
Elly Cutkelvin, deputy mayor for housing, said: “Housing staff have worked closely with these partners to help them develop their schemes and ensure Leicester is able to benefit from the government funding.
“There is a huge and growing need for supported accommodation of this kind and very little funding available to provide it, so it’s vital we continue to work together to obtain additional funding when we can.”
Both schemes are expected to be completed by March.