FAREHAM ACTION ON ROUGH SLEEPING
I’m pleased to advise that a funding bid under the Government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative for 2020/21 has been successful, securing funding of £141,450 across Fareham and Gosport.
As background, in 2019 Fareham Borough Council made a successful bid for short term funding to help us tackle the issue of rough sleeping. We were able to increase the Outreach Service in Fareham with an additional 1.6FTE posts and a small personalisation fund. The posts are hosted by Two Saints and have been working alongside the ongoing service contracted from them.
These posts have made a significant difference to the level of support provided to rough sleepers and have been key to getting some rough sleepers into sustainable housing solutions. For example, in 2018 Fareham reported 19 rough sleepers which reduced to 10 in 2019.
We have been successful in a bid to continue the existing 1.6FTE Outreach roles for the next year but we have also now been granted funding to appoint a Complex Needs Navigator and an Accommodation Procurement Officer. Both roles will work across Fareham and Gosport offering more intensive support and will focus particularly on assisting those leaving prison and those with complex needs (such as substance misuse issues, mental health needs and behavioural challenges) to find and maintain suitable accommodation. The roles will work together to identify rough sleepers for whom traditional housing solutions are not working and to find other more bespoke housing options.