PR Date: Monday, 7 June 2021 - 5:15pm
North Herts District Council (NHDC) recently received government funding totalling £172,000 to help homelessness charity Haven First continue their work in the district.
The funding comes following successful bids to the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2021-2022, Flexible Homelessness Support grant scheme and Homelessness Reduction grant scheme which are run and awarded by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The funding will go towards:
- Providing a 12 month extension of the lease at the Templars hotel in Baldock which helps to house homeless people when shelter is urgently required
- Obtaining six, three bed Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) which will enable people to move out of Haven First Hostels, then eventually on to other dwellings
- Employing two floating support staff to work with people living in the HMO’s, smoothing their transition to independent living
Haven First provides support to over 200 people per year who are experiencing homelessness in North Hertfordshire, and has been funded by NHDC since April 2018. Not only do they provide hot meals and a bed for those in need, but they also assist longer term with helping homeless people move in to their own, independent accommodation. Processes and support put in place by Haven First help to reduce the risk of individuals returning to rough sleeping.
Cllr Gary Grindal, NHDC Executive Member for Housing said: “We are incredibly pleased with the successful funding bids that will enable this vital service to help more homeless people in the district. The impact of Haven First’s outreach, accommodation and resettlement support for homeless people is immeasurable, and their actions change lives for the better every day.
“Further funding from the Council that will support Haven First for the next three years has also just been approved, and we look forward to continuing to build upon our already strong working relationship with them in the future.”
For more information on Haven First go to the Haven First website.
For help for rough sleepers go to our Help For Rough Sleepers webpage.
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