the Pavement

Still Supporting People?

Adam Grinsell, 08 September 2010

Homeless charities and hostels across Birmingham have sent a worrying warning that the full effect of the withdrawal of council funding is not yet being felt.

Started in 2003, Birmingham City Council's Supporting People funding was awarded to those service providers in the city that offered support and accommodation to those who needed it most. But in August 2009, many of those providers were told they would have this vital money withdrawn, and in January it was largely stopped - now only four providers across the city receive this funding.

As a result, services have been reduced, shelters closed, and entire organisations have gone out of business. And despite this, many warn the full impact may not have yet been realised.

Mark Orbell, manager of St Anne's hostel on Moseley Street, said: "By Christmas there could be a real problem. Following the Supporting People withdrawal, hubs were set up where service users could stay for 28 days while they looked for something more permanent, but there have been people staying in them for six months now. Supporting People funding made a tremendous difference, providing 30 per cent of our funding for resettlement benefits, but after its withdrawal, we lost five members of staff. Now the service users are not quite sure what's happening. When we had the funding, we were moving out about 11 people a month to permanent housing; now we're down to two. We also have a guy who has been here with us for a long time now, but will have to move into residential care because we just don't have the resources to look after him anymore."

Orbell also recalled the day he found out the £400,000 they received would be stopped, saying: "It was like being dumped by text!

"We were told by email in August last year that we had been unsuccessful because we weren't providing a service that was value for money and couldn't do the job, but we would disagree. We then had the choice of carrying on or giving up and going home, and the board felt we had a duty to at least try and maintain some kind of service. What we do now is provide advice and guidance and deal with immediate welfare needs. We are fortunate that we have managed to keep going, as there are projects that have had to go to the wall."

One such project is the Dry House service, which was offered by SIFA Fireside. Operations Manager Carole Fox said: "With the Supporting People funding we had a 21-bedded dry project for people who had come off alcohol, and for tenancy sustainment before resettlement. But now we have had to close that operation - we could do some really good long-term settlement planning, but that has been taken away from the most vulnerable people. Ironically, there's a new detox unit open in Birmingham with medical staff, and when we went to view it one of the staff said that they need to look for a place where people can go after there, like we had!

"It's just too early to tell the full impact across Birmingham."

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A rough expansion

Jasveer Kaur, 08 September 2010

Within the Government's strategy (2008) to end rough sleeping by 2012, the high number of migrants who are rough sleeping is acknowledged along with the rapid downward spiral that can lead to destitution and life on the streets. Research conducted by Homeless Link in November 2008 showed that out of those rough sleeping in London, 25 per cent were from A10 countries (accession states in Eastern Europe), a seven per cent increase from the previous year.

Despite the focus on the capital city, similar problems are present across the country. During a survey carried out in early 2009, 14 per cent of local authorities in England highlighted that a high proportion of rough sleepers are A10 nationals. The West Midlands being one of the predominate regions where this is the case. Indeed, a significant proportion of A10 nationals are accessing homeless services in Birmingham, evidence of the widespread problem.

Birmingham-based homeless charities have started to monitor the number of migrants accessing their services. St Martin's Helpdesk found that in the last year, Eastern Europeans made up nine per cent of their service users, over 60 per cent of those being Polish, though there has been an increase in Latvians in recent months. Similarly, in April 2010, seven per cent of service users at SIFA Fireside were Eastern Europeans, with the overwhelming majority from the A8 countries, especially Poland.

With the help of translators, SIFA Fireside is researching the specific needs of this migrant group in the hope to provide more specialist support, like those commissioned in London by BARKA, which provides opportunities for social integration and reconnection.

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Highland housing boost

Staff, 08 September 2010

A housing association in the Highlands has secured a £40 million bank loan to build more than 400 affordable houses over the next three years.

Albyn Housing Society has earmarked the funds to develop new flats and houses at low-cost rent and reduce the huge number of people on the housing waiting list.

Around 2,000 people are declared homeless in the Highlands each year, and recent figures reveal that there are over 10,000 applicants who need new homes.

Calum Macaulay, Chief Executive of Albyn Housing, announced the deal: "We have been working with The Royal Bank of Scotland to renegotiate our current facility and secure additional development funding to enable us to help address the demand for affordable housing in the Highlands.

We are committed to the development of low-cost, energy-efficient homes in communities around the region, and to supporting and maintaining healthy communities."

Albyn Housing owns over 2,500 homes for low-cost rent in the Highlands, which is around 25 per cent of the region's affordable housing. The local council's housing chair, Margaret Davidson, supported the new funding:

"Our housing need is huge and Albyn is a big player. They have done well to get this deal with RBS. We all know that the banks haven't had a loose purse string with anything to do with housing."

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