24-hour homeless hub to open in Croydon

With one in every seven residents classed as homeless in Croydon, the council has launched a 24-hour, 365-day homeless assessment hub which will open this week (December 9).

Croydon Council was granted £622,000 from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to run the hub and the council has since commissioned Evolve Housing + Support to manage it.

The hub will offer up to 15 people a bed for up to 72 hours, as well as a same-day assessment of their financial, health and housing circumstances.

According to a report published by Trust for London the homelessness rate in Croydon is well above the London average, with 7 out of every 1,000 residents accepted as homeless.

Rough sleepers or people at risk of sleeping rough will be referred to the hub by the council’s homelessness assessment team and partners, including Croydon Reach and Crisis.

The individuals will then receive help into settled accommodation and one-to-one help with their finances and job skills.

Cllr Alison Butler, deputy leader and cabinet member for homes and Gateway services said: ‘This 24-hour, 365-day hub is the latest in a series of measures we have introduced with local specialist partners to address rough sleepers individual circumstances and turn their lives around.

‘This hub is about more than giving rough sleepers somewhere safe to stay; it is a place where they can get help with their finances, medical needs, and other factors so the council and our local partners can work with them to end their homelessness for good.’

In related news, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has announced £6m of funding for Phase 2 of his homelessness scheme A Bed Every Night.

The funding will commission 400 additional places across Greater Manchester’s ten boroughs on the scheme up to June 2020.

These will add to the 300 beds from Phase 1 of the scheme, which aims to provide a bed and personal support for anyone sleeping on Greater Manchester’s streets.

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