A TWO-year funding package has been secured to help provide services to prevent rough sleeping in Coventry.
The city council has secured £453, 379 from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from 2023-25 which will help existing services continue.
It will also help fund staff involved in outreach, and specialist support for people who have complex needs and who often find themselves sleeping on the streets.
The current outreach team is multi-functional, including specialist roles and projects that tackle the local issues in Coventry.
These include a complex women’s navigator, someone working with non-UK residents who have no recourse to public funds; a drug and alcohol treatment specialist; and a mental health community worker.
It also includes staff working to support ex-rough sleepers in their new accommodation to help prevent them from returning to homelessness.
It also works with ex-offenders to help them settle in at new accommodation.
Jim Crawshaw, Head of Housing and Homelessness, said: “We will support people for as long as they need it and work to secure accommodation for those homeless.
“It’s important to know that there are people with complex needs who prefer to sleep out even when accommodation is available to them.
“We have empty beds most nights and despite our intervention, people often don’t accept the support.
“The additional funding will allow the team to focus more on prevention and recovery, whilst still maintaining our ability to respond and support people in crisis.”
