More rough sleepers in Doncaster to be helped off the streets thanks to £460,000 grant

Doncaster Council is set to receive a six-figure sum in Government cash in order to help more people who have been sleeping rough off the streets.
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The local authority has been awarded more than £462,500 from a pot of Government cash used by council and charities to fund new bed spaces and support staff.

The council’s Complex Lives partnership will use the money to carry on engaging and supporting people in Doncaster often caught up in a cycle of rough sleeping, addiction, poor mental and physical health and offending behaviour.

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The service works with St Leger Homes and other housing providers, NHS, police, prisons and voluntary organisations.

The local authority has been awarded more than £462,500 from a pot of Government cash used by council and charities to fund new bed spaces and support staff.The local authority has been awarded more than £462,500 from a pot of Government cash used by council and charities to fund new bed spaces and support staff.
The local authority has been awarded more than £462,500 from a pot of Government cash used by council and charities to fund new bed spaces and support staff.

The government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative was launched in 2018 to ensure local areas were given the boost they needed to provide vital services for people living on the streets.

Phil Holmes, Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing said, said the Government funding was ‘welcome and necessary’.

“This announcement illustrates that the rise in rough sleeping continues to be a major challenge across the whole of the country, including in Doncaster, and is a real national priority,” he said.

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“In the past year, the Complex Lives partnership has supported over 100 people off the streets and into stable accommodation, though clearly there is more work to do.

“In the coming year, we will be focusing a lot of effort on prevention and early intervention work at community level across Doncaster and in developing more and different types of accommodation options than we have available now.

“This will enable us to stem the flow of people on to the streets and to provide rapid rehousing solutions if they do become homeless.

“It’s really clear that homelessness is an issue of concern for people and communities across Doncaster, and the partnership needs the support of communities across the whole of the borough to make the impact needed for some our most vulnerable residents.”

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Figures show Doncaster has nearly 11 people per 100,000 identified as homeless – more than both the Yorkshire and England average.

In December, homelessness charity Shelter said there were 60 children in Doncaster who were known to be homeless.