Sam Fender petition triggers change to North East helplines for the homeless
North East musician Sam Fender set up a petition, after talking to North East Homeless, and discovering four of the 'LA7' councils were charging up to 40p per minute to access helplines for people seeking shelter and homelessness support.
The petition is calling for the government to require all local councils across the country to provide FREE helplines for the homeless and vulnerable when in need of urgent support.
After it was set up, Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council and Durham Council made their helplines free - and today Northumberland Council have made theirs free too.
Leader of Northumberland County Council, Glen Sanderson said: “The council is introducing a new freephone number to help homeless people to contact the council for support and assistance and this will be in place by tomorrow. This number will offer another way that homeless people can make contact with us.
We take homelessness very seriously and have a dedicated outreach team who work to locate and engage with rough sleepers. They work with the individual to establish the issues, identify what advice and help is required, which may include provision of emergency accommodation, and put them in touch with the relevant support services. We also work closely with other local partners to prevent people at risk from losing their home wherever possible.”
After hearing the news, Sam Fender said: “We’re absolutely over the moon to hear that Northumberland council has joined the other 3 councils in making their helplines free. This is going to make such a massive difference for so many people.
Sam Fender recently released a new Christmas song, with proceeds going to homelessness charities.
Our reporter Emily Reader went to find out more.
After pledging to make their helpline free at the start of December, Cllr Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council said: "Firstly I want to thank Sam Fender for raising this issue. We have a number of routes through which individuals can present themselves as homeless to which we will add a dedicated freephone line.
"I am pleased to say that the new line will be implemented as soon as possible. Until then we would encourage anyone facing homelessness to contact us on the existing local rate line where we can call back straight away, via our website, live chat or in person at South Shields Town Hall.
"The campaign has given us food for thought and I can confirm that we will also be bringing in freephone numbers for our Covid-19 Support Hub and Hardship Fund helplines. Anyone who is in need should continue to use the existing numbers and other available channels such as the Council's website"