The Mayor of London, , has confirmed plans for up to
200 homes – the first of which will be available this autumn – to
help former rough sleepers and victims of domestic abuse leave
hostels and refuges and move on with their lives.
The Mayor’s ‘move-on’ homes programme will build on City Hall’s
wider work to help rough sleepers and to support victims of
violence against women and girls. People will typically move from
hostels and refuges into the new homes, where they will be
supported as they start to live more independently, ahead of
moving into permanent private rented or social housing.
The first two contracts totalling up to £25 million have now been
awarded to providers One Housing Group and Resonance Real
Lettings Property Fund, who will deliver 115 homes and up to 75
homes respectively. The first homes are expected to be
ready in early autumn and the remainder started by March 2021.
Residents will be provided with support including for mental
health issues, financial management, help finding employment,
education or training opportunities, and referrals to other
agencies.
The Mayor of London, , said: “Once former rough
sleepers and victims of domestic abuse have received the
immediate support they need, the next priority is helping them
move on from hostels and refuges into somewhere safe and stable
to live. These homes will offer a vital stepping stone as they
are supported to live more independently and move on with their
lives. It is now crucial the Government urgently funds
longer-term accommodation for former rough sleepers and victims
of domestic abuse.”
Martin D’Mello, Group Director of Health, Care and Support at One
Housing said: “We are delighted that One Housing has been awarded
one of the first ‘move-on’ homes programme contracts to deliver
115 homes. One Housing has a long history of helping and
supporting people get back on their feet. We provide homes,
support and care which gives them the skills they need to move
towards sustainable independence. We look forward to working with
the Mayor to deliver this much needed housing and these vital
services in London.”
Karen Shackleton, Chair of Resonance said: “The Resonance
Property Funds have already housed nearly 2,000 individuals to
date, of which 50 per cent have been children, and this
significant investment will enable us to support at least another
100 individuals to live independently and allow them to move on
with their lives”.
The Mayor is using all the resources and powers at his disposal
to tackle rough sleeping. In 2019/20 the City Hall rough sleeping
budget is at least £18 million, up from £8.5 million in the year
Sadiq came to office. He has also doubled his outreach team and
recently launched a new ‘rapid response’ team dedicated to
finding rough sleepers and getting them off the streets faster.
In the last year, 3,875 people were helped by frontline Mayoral
‘Life off the Streets’ services – up from 3,123 the year before.
Sadiq is also investing heavily in tackling violence against
women and girls, including providing £10 million each year to a
series of programmes that deliver ongoing support for victims and
survivors and fund rehabilitation projects for perpetrators of
domestic violence, in addition to the £15 million he is providing
from business rates.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- The £50million
funding for this programme is part of the Mayor’s Affordable
Homes Programme, agreed with the Government in 2016.
- One Housing Group will receive £15million of capital grant to
deliver 115 homes, as well as revenue funding to provide
support.
- Resonance Real Lettings Property Fund 2 will
receive up to £10million of capital investment to deliver up to
75 homes, as well as revenue funding to provide support. This is
in addition to the £15 million the Mayor is already investing
into the scheme Real Lettings Property Fund 2, which purchases
existing private properties in good condition and lets them at
genuinely affordable rents to some of the most vulnerable
Londoners. The RLPF2 Fund is run by social impact investment
company Resonance, and St Mungo’s.
- Provision through the move-on programme can include the
development of new homes, the purchase and repair of existing
accommodation or, in exceptional circumstances, the lease and
repair of existing properties.
- The Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) - a
database the Mayor funds that records everyone who is seen rough
sleeping in London for one or more nights – can be visited
here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports
- In April Sadiq hailed Londoners’ generosity after they
donated a record £247,742 to his winter rough sleeping campaign,
with the funds split equally between 22 London homelessness
charities who came together as part of it. Between the beginning
of the campaign in November 2018 and the end of April 2019,
StreetLink received 19,000 referrals – more than double the
number recorded during the 2017/18 winter campaign. For more
information on the Mayor’s rough sleeping campaign
visit: https://www.london.gov.uk/end-homelessness
- The Mayor’s Rough Sleeping Plan of Action includes a call on
the Government to increase the funding available for the move-on
programme into the future. To read the plan,
visit https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/rough_sleeping_plan_of_action_1.pdf
- More information about the Mayor’s £50 million move-on
programme can be found here.
