Funding for night shelters to help rough sleepers off streets
Rough sleepers to access a safe place to stay and vital support to help turn their lives around as funding is given to 26 night shelters across England.
Rough sleepers will be able to access a safe place to stay and vital support to help turn their lives around as £3.3 million in government funding has been allocated today (29 September) to 26 night shelters across England.
Night Shelters offer a vital route off the streets and the funding can be used to provide specialist staff, drug or alcohol advice and financial help.
The Dover Outreach Centre received over £150,000 to refurbish its night shelter and enable it to operate during its first year. Gary Harland, 49, came to the centre following a prison sentence and was struggling with alcohol dependency and very poor mental health. He stayed at the night shelter through last winter and is now living nearby, back in his hometown of Deal thanks the Outreach Centre.
Staff at the centre continue to support him and have helped him remain in his home. Gary has now reconnected with his son who he had been separated from for several years.
Gary said: “I was totally lost since coming out of jail and it has been a long road to recovery but the outreach centre took me off the streets and saved my life really.
“I was born and bred in Deal and I now have a place in my hometown where I also get to see my son again. My support workers are still there for me providing after care helping me out with paperwork and keeping me on the right path. I cannot thank them enough.”
Today’s announcement builds on the £9.88 million given in the first-round of the Night Shelter Transformation Fund in August 2022 which funded 56 organisations over three years, targeting areas most in need.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Felicity Buchan said:
“Night shelters provide a vital safety net for rough sleepers to help them get off the streets and turn their lives around. I am pleased our funding is making such a difference to the lives of people like Gary, which is thanks to the life-changing work of the Dover Outreach Centre and all our partner organisations up and down the country.”
The Night Shelter Transformation Fund is part of government’s commitment to end rough sleeping for good. The Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 is investing over £530m in funding to local authorities across England from April 2022 to March 2025. This includes an additional investment of £34.6m announced in September 2023, to increase funding of rough sleeping services in local areas with the greatest need.