North Kesteven gets £600,000 grant to tackle homelessness

A £600,000 government grant is helping tackle homelessness and rough sleepers in North Kesteven.
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A campaign called Change4Lincs is being launched on October 12 which covers the areas of North Kesteven, South Kesteven, South Holland and West Lindsey.

It is designed to support people known to be rough sleeping or are at risk of having to do so.

The 14-strong Change4Lincs team is made up of a project co-ordinator, a physical health nurse, four outreach workers, four tenancy support officers, two local lettings officers and two intensive support workers.

As a result of the coronavirus crisis, the demand for temporary accommodation has been even greater as authorities were ordered to get homeless children and families off the streets.As a result of the coronavirus crisis, the demand for temporary accommodation has been even greater as authorities were ordered to get homeless children and families off the streets.
As a result of the coronavirus crisis, the demand for temporary accommodation has been even greater as authorities were ordered to get homeless children and families off the streets.

North Kesteven District Council’s executive member for housing, Coun Ian Carrington said: “The Change4Lincs team has got a very important role to play because last year 20 rough sleepers were identified across the four district council areas covered by the project. We now believe that this number has increased to about 80 due to changing or challenging personal circumstances, some of which are Covid related, which mean people cannot afford, access or sustain suitable accommodation.”

The key challenges being tackled by the project are securing emergency access to safe/supported accommodation; access to longer-term accommodation for single people and providing rough sleepers with access to, and help from, support agencies to improve their physical and mental health.

An information booklet about the project is available from the district council offices and support hubs or you can find out more by visiting to http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15137

The booklet is mainly aimed to raise awareness to partner agencies.

The project’s outreach workers will be directly engaging with individuals on the street and they will also be using the countywide street outreach services. The council also has mobile contact numbers for some of the rough sleepers and they will be calling them.