On 1 October 2012, the Harrogate Homeless Project is launching an innovative new scheme to help rough sleepers within the Harrogate district.
This is a local response to the national initiative No Second Night Out aimed at making sure that anybody sleeping rough can be immediately helped.
The Harrogate Homeless Project was successful in bidding for a grant of £242,000 for this three year project which will run right across the Harrogate district.
The funding which is managed by Homeless Link has come via the government’s Homelessness Transition fund.
The Homelessness Transition fund is linked to the principles of No Second Night Out (which is the successful pilot scheme in London to reduce rough sleeping).
Brian Turner, Chairman of the Harrogate Homeless Project, said:
The introduction of the No Second Night Out scheme will mean a significant change in the way we respond to rough sleeping. Our goal is to end rough sleeping within the district and this can only be achieved with help from local agencies and the general public.
I am pleased to say that we have all the right agencies on board including Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire Police and the Health Service. But we hope that our awareness campaign will urge the public to help too. We have to get away from the misunderstanding that rough sleepers are only those misusing alcohol or drugs. This is so far from the case. People sleeping on our streets come from a wide-ranging background and age group.
Liz Hancock, Project Manager, added:
The No Second Night Out team will make contact with the rough sleeper and, if they are agreeable, will provide emergency shelter. Each rough sleeper will be individually assessed and will be offered a single service offer of accommodation with a continued support package to prevent a return to the streets.
We know the longer someone sleeps rough the worse their problems can get and the harder it is to overcome them. A life on the street can lead to substance misuse, crime and serious physical and mental health issues. Everyone can help prevent this from happening. If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough within the Harrogate district, please contact us 24 hours a day on 01423 566900.
The Homeless Project’s day centre Springboard has on average 40 clients each day and the main accommodation centre on Bower Street is consistently running at capacity.
The Harrogate district scheme will consist of three key elements:
- Creating an assessment hub for rough sleepers, incorporating the principles of No Second Night Out.
- Building on the Project’s capacity to address rough sleeping through the development of a team of volunteers to work specifically in this area, in prevention work as well as supporting people off the streets.
- Developing a move-on pathway by establishing move on accommodation from both the Project itself and the assessment hub.
The following organisations are supporting this campaign:
Harrogate Borough Council North Yorkshire Police York and North Yorkshire Probation Trust Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust Housing Association – Foundation YMCA Lifeline Harrogate Limited Crime Reduction InitiativeHarrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust said:
The Trust is delighted to be supporting this excellent initiative. We hope it will help us to offer greater assistance to patients who tell us they are homeless and would like assistance.
We are pleased to be working in partnership with so many other agencies to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in Harrogate.
