Thanet awarded £881k of government funding to help tackle homelessness

homeless-man-833017_640 — Sleeping rough

Thanet has been awarded £881,034 of government funding to tackle homelessness on the Isle in 2022/23.

The £881,034 allocated to Thanet is made up of a Homelessness Prevention Grant amounting to £862,362 and Domestic Abuse (new burdens) grant of £18,672 to support homeless domestic abuse victims.

A Thanet District Council spokesperson said: “It has been confirmed that the council will be awarded £881,034 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as part of the Homelessness Prevention Grant for 2022/23.

“This funding supports our core homelessness prevention service. The service offers a wide range of support which helps people who are at risk of homelessness to remain in their existing home or to find a new home.

“Each year, we successfully prevent between 600 and 700 households from becoming homeless. This represents a significant reduction in the need for temporary accommodation and is clearly a much better outcome for the households involved.

“Our Homelessness Prevention team provides local residents with support in finding or settling into a new home. We also provide financial assistance with paying rent deposits and rent in advance.

“This award represents a 2.17% increase on the award for 2020/21 (£862,362) and includes £18,672 of additional provision under the Domestic Abuse Act.”

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay said: “The Government has made excellent progress on its commitment to end rough sleeping, with rough sleeping levels falling 37% between 2019 and 2020. This further funding underlines the Government’s commitment to preventing homelessness and ending rough sleeping for good.

“Anyone in Thanet who is homeless, or at risk of homelessness, should approach Thanet Council for support.”

Help for tenants and home-owners

Last month Thanet District Council’s Housing Options team was awarded £175,000 to help private rented sector tenants and homeowners who may be struggling to pay their rent and mortgages as a result of COVID-19

The grant was from Kent Housing Group (KHG) which secured £2.5m in a Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) bid to Kent County Council.

Thanet’s criteria stipulates that households who have been adversely financially affected as a result of the pandemic are prioritised.

The funding is to:

boost support for private rented sector tenants to financially recover from impact of the pandemic and prevent them losing their homes
Support landlords in recovering from the loss of rental payments received where the tenants have fallen into rent arrears
Support the containment of COVID-19 outbreaks by helping households to remain in their existing homes and prevent people from becoming street homeless or ending up in insecure and transient housing arrangements
Provide support to homeowners who may be at risk of having their homes repossessed as a result of COVID-19

If you are a landlord and believe that your tenant might require assistance or if you are a homeowner and are struggling to pay your mortgage, contact the Housing Options team on 01843 577377 or email [email protected]

This funding has to be spent by 31 March 2022.

RISE ( Rough sleeper Intervention, Support and Empowerment) team

In June of this year funding was also awarded for the multi-agency RISE team so they could continue working more intensively and flexibly with rough sleepers; continue to provide a 24/7 ‘’Somewhere Safe to Stay’’ Homeless Centre – including up to 20 self contained bed spaces for the Winter Shelter scheme – and provide an extra 22 bed spaces with tailored personal support.

Since the RISE project began in October 2018, the council led team has joined forces with other key agencies such as Forward Trust, NHS, Paramount Independent Property Services, Serveco and the Salvation Army to ensure services are working together.

Housing First scheme

This year a pilot scheme was also introduced in Thanet to provide homes for people with a long history of rough sleeping – with one man going into accommodation after being caught in a cycle of homelessness for more than a decade.

The Housing First scheme, by Porchlight and Thanet District Council, began in April and has two properties, each housing one person. A third property is being sought.

Housing First is a scheme where people are moved into their own home and then start to address other issues they are facing such as mental ill health or drug or alcohol dependency.

It differs from other supported housing models because people do not have to prove they are ready for independent living. No conditions are placed on them, other than a willingness to engage with their support worker.