A number of people have been in touch with me about what the council is doing in respect of homelessness. I asked last week if a report could be put together. Some good work is being done as can be seen in the council response:
Durham County Council is committed to ensuring our citizens do not have to make the street their home. Over recent months the County Council has adopted and signed up to a regional statement, committing to the principle of No Second Night Out. This approach ensures that anyone who sleeps rough does not do so for a second night and is offered advice, support and accommodation to ensure they do not return to the streets.
Durham County Council alongside Newcastle City Council are the lead Local Authority’s working with all regional Local Authorities to develop services and improve practice to support people off the streets under the No Second Night Out standard.
Through the Housing Solutions Service we have been working in partnership with a range of agencies, including Homeless Links national Street Link Service, to ensure partners and the general public can inform the Council of anyone found to be sleeping rough. Through a service called ACE (Adults Facing Exclusion), commissioned by Durham County Council and delivered by a regional third sector organisation (The Cyrenians), outreach workers are able to locate people rough sleeping and offer advice, support and accommodation.
In April 2009, The Cyrenians bought the site now known as the Fells. The accommodation is currently spread across a number of small, 4 and 5 bedroom chalets dispersed across the entire site. Through a 45 unit Supporting People contract, the Fells provides emergency accommodation for single homeless people over 18 years, and has made huge progress with respect to successfully engaging with the client group and supporting their recovery into independence.
The ACE Service has been operating across CountyDurham since July 2012 and has assisted 73 people, 46 of which have been verified as rough sleeping. Of the 73 people assisted by ACE, 43% remain at the Fells receiving support with the aim to move them successfully towards permanent accommodation, 15% accessed private rented accommodation and 4% returned to a settled home.
During this period of severe weather, Durham County Council has a Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) in place. This protocol ensures that anyone at risk of rough sleeping, regardless of their priority need under s189 of the Housing Act 1996, and their entitlement to temporary accommodation, will be offered temporary accommodation and ongoing advice and support to secure a suitable accommodation option.
As part of Durham County Council’s ongoing commitment to reduce rough sleeping across the County, the authority has recently undertaken a survey of rough sleepers and former rough sleepers using the Prevention Opportunities Mapping and Planning Toolkit (Prompt) developed by Homeless Link. Our recent estimate of 11 rough sleepers across the County is currently being reviewed and will assist in our commitment to continuous improvement to services for those facing homelessness across CountyDurham.
Durham County Council will continue to provide early intervention to prevent people from becoming homeless having prevented over 950 households from becoming homeless in 2011/12 following assistance by the Housing Solutions Service. For those who are identified as rough sleeping, the council will ensure that advice, support and accommodation are provided to ensure no one has to make the street their home.
If you know of anyone who is rough sleeping please ring the Council’s Housing Solutions Service on: 03000 260792 during office hours or 03000 268840, Out of Hours on 01388 722 538 or via email housingsolutions@durham.gov.uk.