A £370,000 government grant will help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in Warwick district.
The cash has been awarded to Warwick District Council following the government’s announcement in March of a £30million Rough Sleepers Initiative.
The funding was secured following a bid by the council’s housing team. Confirmation will now allow the council to go forward with a number of plans, as part of its £3million investment, alongside Warwickshire County Council, to try and reduce the number of people sleeping on the district’s streets.
Plans include the provision of a direct access hostel offering around 20 beds to people who are sleeping rough or who are at risk of sleeping rough.
Other measures include the recruitment of a Rough Sleepers’ co-ordinator, additional outreach workers, a Housing First Office, and the start of a new service to provide housing support to those making the transition from sleeping rough to a home.
District council housing spokesman Coun Peter Phillips said: “Earlier this year we committed to take decisive action to tackle the problem of homelessness and rough sleeping head on and its root cause.
“In a matter of months and thanks to this new funding, additional funds allocated by the council and the dedication of our housing team, we are now in a position to start to provide the long term support the most vulnerable in our society so desperately need.”
With 21 identified rough sleepers across Warwick district last autumn, the figure has more than doubled since 2015.
