Bath & North East Somerset Council has secured a share of £239,000 in funding for its ongoing work to help single homeless people across the local area.
The funding has come from central Government’s Help for Single Homeless Fund following a joint partnership bid with Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council.
Working with its partners, Julian House and Reach, Bath & North East Somerset Council works to support all individuals who are sleeping rough:
- Outreach workers contact rough sleepers on a daily basis to help them access support and accommodation.
- Manvers Street Hostel in Bath, provides emergency accommodation and support.
- The day centre at Manvers Street enables rough sleepers access to, meals, washing facilities, and healthcare.
- Rough Sleepers are directed to help and support from drug and alcohol services and advice about employment and training.
- Julian House and Reach support individuals to more stable and independent lives, including helping them to find their own accommodation.
Councillor Tim Ball, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning, said: “This funding will help us to work with our partners to continue support some of the hardest to reach individuals, who often have very complex needs.
“Our aim is to support homeless people to find long-term solutions to their problems.”
Each year the Council is required to estimate/count the number of rough sleepers in Bath and North East Somerset, and report the figure to government.
In November 2014, there were an estimated 27 rough sleepers in Bath, a reduction from November 2013, that figure was 33.
There is strong evidence that services are effective as only five people identified as sleeping rough in 2013 were still on the streets in 2014.
