Council to take on five new rough sleeper specialists to help Northampton's homeless

Northampton Borough Council is set to increase its work significantly to help rough sleepers in the town thanks to new Government funding announced this week.
The new workers will be employed by Northampton Borough CouncilThe new workers will be employed by Northampton Borough Council
The new workers will be employed by Northampton Borough Council

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has awarded the council £215,400 for the financial year 2019-20.

This money will pay for a rough sleepers co-ordinator, two Street Outreach Workers, a mental health worker and an officer who will work with local prison resettlement teams.

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Councillor Stephen Hibbert, cabinet member for housing and wellbeing, said: “These five new staff will support multi-agency working and provide a useful boost to everyone’s efforts to tackle, prevent and reduce rough sleeping in Northampton.

“The extra Street Outreach Workers, working alongside the two we already have, will enable us to continue providing an Outreach Service for rough sleepers, seven days a week.

“We are delighted we have received funding for a specialist Mental Health Worker who will work proactively with the Street Outreach Workers to assess the mental health needs of rough sleepers and help them access the treatment, housing and support they need.”

The funding is part of £11 million set aside by the Government to support those areas that have not already been allocated funding in 2019/20.

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It comes on top of a grant of up to £60,000 that was awarded earlier this year by MHCLG for the Council to expand its Street Outreach Service and Winter Shelter provision during February and March 2019.

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