Hull City Council

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Hull City Council

• Steve Richmond
• Housing Services Manager

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How local agencies are working together to
tackle the issue of rough sleeping
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Rough Sleeper Strategy Group Formed
Partners/agency reps meet monthly
Not just talking shop real actions
Rough Sleeper Count Midnight 12 May to6am 13 May
2008
Includes tracking rough sleepers identified on 13
May and others
Plans to keep outreach worker and funding
agreed Purchase of bicycle
Payment of hostel arrears debt to allow rough
sleepers to return
Group grows
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Rough Sleepers Count

• March 2008 Rough Sleeper Count Group
  established
• 13 May 2008 Rough Sleeper count
• 10 rough sleepers found

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Rough Sleepers Working Group (RSWG)

• Introduced 14 May
• Membership
• Terms of reference
• Action Plan

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Membership

• 3 direct access hostels in Hull
• Hull Homeless and Rootless Project (HHARP)
• William Booth
• English Churches Housing Group (ECHG)
• Homeless Health Team
• Hull Teaching Primary Care Trust
• Police
• Compass - drug/alcohol abuse
• Mental Health
• Lighthouse project
• engage with women who find themselves working in
  prostitution

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Membership

• Hull Prison Resettlement team
• Alcohol Drug Service (ADS)
• Supporting People
• Housing Service Homelessness team
• Homeless Link
• Invited to all meetings and have provided
  valuable advice and guidance

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RSWG Action Plan

• Case work
• all 10 men identified at count
• Identify and case work any new rough sleepers
• all new cases brought to the group
• Identify gaps in provision

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Examples of Good Practice

• Introduction of RSWG
• multi agency approach in dealing with complex
  cases

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Examples of Good Practice

• Client M
• identified as a rough sleeper on 13 May
• had drug issues
• prevention payment was made to enable him to
  access a hostel
• is now progressing through the move on process
  towards independent living and is engaging with
  relevant support agencies
• Soup Kitchen
• one of the kitchens was to be closed, due to the
  efforts of RSWG members (HHARP and Compass) this
  continues to operate

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Prison Protocol

• Working with the Prison Service Resettlement
  Unit, HMP Hull and Shelter, to reduce the number
  of prisoners released to no fixed abode
• Working with the Resettlement Unit regarding
  known rough sleepers currently in prison

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Compass outreach work

• 4 detached sessions per month
• 2 early shifts
• 2 late shifts
• Discuss
• alcohol and drug use
• general wellbeing health
• possible treatment options
• referrals for psychological/social report
• substitute prescribing eg methadone/subutex
• harm minimisation
• safer injecting techniques
• importance of screening and vaccines
• soup kitchens
• referrals to hostels

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Outreach Worker HHARP

• Engages with rough sleepers within Hull
• Bicycle purchased through prevention fund to
  increase effectiveness
• Funding through Supporting People and Housing
  Services

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Cold Weather Provision

• HHARP Housing attended Homeless Link seminar in
  November 2008
• 8 extra beds provided by HHARP and ECHG for 28
  days from 22 December
• funding provided by Homeless Section (Prevention
  Fund)
• due to the success/demand extra beds extended for
  a further 28 days
• RSWG to consider mainstreaming cold weather
  provision for future years

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Prevention Fund

• RSWG can request payments from the prevention
  fund to deal with any case of rough sleeping,
  e.g. deposits
• The fund has paid for sleeping bags for outreach
  workers to distribute

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Gaps in Provision

• Gap identified in service provision in Hull for
  men and women with chronic alcohol related issues
  and with chaotic housing histories, including
  rough sleeping

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Wet Provision

• RSWG invited Homeless link to provide information
  about wet provision
• Visits arranged to wet houses in York/ Leeds
• RSWG unanimously agreed that wet provision is
  needed
• RSWG sub-group undertook research and compiled a
  business case
• Report to Housing Management Team Supporting
  People

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8 Months Later

• The Rough Sleeper Working Group keeps growing as
  more agencies recognise the value of it, the
  latest being Shelter
• Cold weather provision arrangements
• Proposed wet provision
• Rough sleeper count to take place this Spring
• The count will be effective due to the ongoing
  ground work of outreach workers
• Looking at further gaps in provision
• Will continue to work towards ending rough
  sleeping in Hull

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Biggest Benefit

• greater co-operation now exists between all of
  the agencies involved

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Miriam William Booth Hostel

• attending the Rough Sleeping Working group,
  together with other supporting homeless agencies
  and health and addiction workers has
  strengthened the relationship between us all We
  have been able to work together closely to house
  the rough sleepers and also to look at a strategy
  to deal with the gaps in the housing provision...
• I feel that this is an excellent working group
  who feel strongly enough to do something about
  rough sleeping!
•  
• My wish is that this group will grow stronger
  and that we will see a wet house being built in
  Hull lessening the number of rough sleepers on
  the streets of Hull."