Every night across the UK, thousands of people risk their lives by sleeping on our streets. Rough sleepers are more likely to be the victims of crime, suffer violent attacks, develop physical and mental health problems, and, develop complex needs such as substance dependency. For too long, rough sleepers have been punished as they are marked as law breakers and, while anti-social behaviour must be addressed, this outlook fails to tackle to underlying issues.

The average life expectancy of a rough sleeper is just 47, 30 years below average, and, without intervention, many of these individuals, unable to get the help they need, will never be given the chance to start over. By providing a stable, permanent home, we aim to not just prevent a return to the streets, but to facilitate our residents’ personal growth and development.

Each new resident will be enrolled onto a bespoke wrap around support solution tailored for their individual needs. Once the scope of support is identified, a dedicated support worker will be assigned to them so they can, together, identify their requirements and create the best plan for them. These may include benefit claims, appointments, food shopping, lessons on financial responsibility, finding the best help for any substance abuse, and supporting their mental health. On average, our residents can receive between 3-6 hours of support.

This is all done in order to equip our residents with the tools to be fully self-sufficient and free from dependencies. We deliver this support in both a 1-to-1 environment with the assigned support worker, and in specially selected support groups. We aim to give each tenant 3-6 hours of support per week depending on the resident’s needs.