Worcester MP has hailed the launch of a new
multi-agency initiative in the city designed to coordinate
responses to rough sleeping, begging, and street drinking.
The Worcester Cares strategy, launched
this week, brings together local charities, the Police, City
Council, local businesses, church groups and many others to
coordinate their efforts and provide consistent advice and
information to members of the public on what they can do to best
help vulnerable people off the streets of Worcester. The focus of
the strategy is on homelessness prevention, targeting support at
vulnerable individuals as early as possible and intervening to
prevent any deterioration in their circumstances.
The campaign acknowledges that local residents
are keen to provide both personal and financial assistance to
those on the streets, and a number of recommendations have been
published which include;
-
Donating to Worcester Cares via text
message, enabling the money to go direct to local charities
providing food and support;
-
Advising rough sleepers you encounter to visit
the Hive to be connected with services that can help them off
the streets;
-
Using the StreetLink app or website
to report sightings or encounters with rough sleepers so that
an outreach worker can follow up and offer support;
-
Volunteering with local charities such as
Maggs Day Centre, St Paul’s Hostel, or CCP.
The campaign has been devised by the Worcester
City Homeless and Vulnerable People Forum - the inaugural meeting
of which Robin attended last Autumn - and is designed to bring
about a more collaborative approach to homelessness among local
charities, recovery services, and Police and council authorities.
One of the Forum’s founding priorities was to develop a clear and
consistent message to well-intentioned members of the public on
how homelessness prevention services work in Worcester and how
they can provide help in an appropriate way.
Speaking at the campaign launch, a spokesperson
for Worcester Cares said:
“Worcester Cares brings together local
charities, the police, local businesses, the city council,
churches and many other organisations to coordinate their efforts
and work. Whether a person is rough sleeping, begging or street
drinking, all the Worcester Cares organisations will work
together to help the person off the street.”
Commenting after the launch, Robin said:
“The Worcester Cares strategy has my
full support, and I was pleased to be at the first meeting of the
local Homelessness and Vulnerable People Forum last year that set
the campaign in motion. On a recent visit to St Paul’s Hostel I
was updated on the latest developments and am now pleased to see
the formal rollout of the campaign across the city.”
“No single charity or organisation can tackle
the complex needs of homeless and vulnerable people alone, which
is why collaborative working and a joined-up approach are so
important. Raising awareness of what members of the public can do
to help is also vitally important – constituents frequently
contact me asking where and how they can refer rough sleepers to
support services, and this information has not always been widely
and clearly publicised. ”
“Worcester Cares establishes a clear
source of advice for those who want to help vulnerable people in
our city, with the message of ‘Tell them, tell us’ being key:
tell rough sleepers where they can go to access support, and tell
local outreach services via StreetLink so they can follow up on
referrals and offer support and advice. I will continue to work
alongside members of the local Forum to promote and support the
new homeless prevention services arising from the Government’s
recently introduced Homelessness Reduction Act, aiming to
eliminate rough sleeping altogether in the next decade.”
