£725,625 Funding Boost to Tackle Rough Sleeping in Torbay
- Torbay Council will receive £725,625 of funding to help tackle rough sleeping, as part of £200 million across England to get people off the streets.
- The Conservative Government’s successful rough sleeping programme has already proven to reduce rough sleeping by 32 per cent.
Kevin Foster MP has welcomed the announcement more rough sleepers in Torbay are set to be helped off the streets and into safe accommodation thanks to a £725,625 funding boost.
The funding will be allocated to Torbay Council and will support vital projects such as night shelters, specialist mental health or addiction services, and targeted advice support to help rough sleepers off the streets for good.
It will fund up to 14,000 bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England.
This funding is one part of an unprecedented £750 million investment this year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, part of the Government’s drive to end rough sleeping by 2024.
Analysis of the Rough Sleeping Initiative – now in its fourth year – shows the programme has reduced rough sleeping by almost a third compared to areas which have not taken part in the programme.
Building on the past success of the programme, funding has almost doubled this year and will provide additional support to help those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Rough Sleeping Initiative was launched in 2018 to help local areas provide tailored services to those living on the streets.
With this investment, the Conservative Government has now allocated almost £400 million to 281 councils through the programme which supports coordinated projects across areas including housing, mental health, addiction support and domestic abuse.
Funding from previous years of the programme is already having a transformational effect at a local level with local authorities reporting significant falls in the number of rough sleepers.
Commenting, Kevin Foster MP said:
“I am delighted Torbay will receive a further £725,625 to tackle rough sleeping across our bay through the next stage of the Rough Sleeping Initiative.”
“This funding is not just about a roof over your head, but providing the support needed to tackle the issues which led someone to sleep rough and help them move forward.”
ENDS
