Essex announces £1.5m to support rough sleepers and families and individuals at risk of homelessness

The Leader of Essex County Council, Cllr David Finch, has announced significant funding to support families and individuals at risk of homelessness, and those sleeping rough in the county. The £1.5m funding will see £500,000 a year, for the next three years, allocated to support rough sleepers. It will also support families and individuals to keep their home if they face the threat of eviction or homelessness. This funding is in addition to the £3.8m the Council already spend in supporting rough sleepers, working with district partners, such as Basildon Borough Council, to find all rough sleepers permanent homes for the long term.

Councillor Finch said: “No one in our county should be sleeping rough and we recognise that rough sleeping and homelessness is devastating for individuals and families alike. We are committed to eliminating rough sleeping, minimise the number of families sleeping in temporary accommodation, and support people threatened with eviction, so they do not become homeless."
 
Cllr Jeff Henry, Basildon Conservatives Spokesman for Housing & Communities, added: “This funding will not only support those already sleeping rough but support those who are facing the prospect of becoming homeless, providing support before this happens. Everybody should have somewhere to call home, which is why this funding over the next three years will be life-changing for many.”

The £1.5m funding will see an increased focus on prevention, using the expanded Peabody Floating Support service and Horizons Service, delivered by Phoenix Futures, to reduce the number of households that would become homeless or rough sleepers in the future.

The funding will also ensure safe accommodation opportunities are in place which allow rough sleepers to come off the streets.

It will also assist in supporting and building resilience among current rough sleepers, so that their homelessness is a one-off occurrence.