Extra funding announced for regions homeless

Central
West Midlands
homeless
birmingham
Friday 30 December 2016 at 6:21pm

Birmingham and Solihull Councils have been awarded a £400,000 grant to help the homeless, weeks after the death of a rough sleeper.

The city council teamed up with Solihull Borough Council to win Government funding to help get people new to the streets the rapid support that they need.

There was an outcry after CCTV cameras caught the last moments of homeless man Chirac Ionut, 30, who died in a city centre loading bay on November 30.

The tragedy raised awareness of the regions homeless as housing charity Shelter predict 10,000 people in the area now have no roof over their heads.

The Rough Sleeping Grant will be used to support the homeless by offering them a safe place to sleep, physical and mental health checks and substance misuse screening.

The money will be used to create two new posts whose holders will help rough sleepers. Credit: ITV News.

Work will be co-ordinated through a team of nurses, substance misuse workers and housing and support officers, and will link to existing outreach and other service providers.

The money will be used to create two new posts whose holders will help rough sleepers after they are discharged from Heartlands and Solihull Hospitals and HMP Birmingham.

Funding will also be given to a new assessment and triage night shelter.Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for housing and homes, Councillor Peter Griffiths, said:

Credit: ITV News.

The Rough Sleeping Grant comes a week after the Government also confirmed financial support of £1.7million for Birmingham City Council in their efforts to prevent homelessness through the Trailblazer scheme.