A 24-hour, 365-day homeless assessment hub set up by Croydon Council to tackle rough sleeping opens fully next week.
The project between the council and specialist provider Evolve Housing + Support offers up to 15 people a bed for up to 72 hours and a same-day assessment of their financial, health and housing circumstances.
Rough sleepers, or people about to sleep rough, are referred to the hub by the council’s homelessness assessment team and partners including Croydon Reach and Crisis. They then receive help into settled accommodation and one-to-one help with their finances and job skills.
The council has commissioned Evolve Housing + Support to manage the assessment hub, which includes shared sleeping quarters, female-only shared bedrooms, a private room and a kitchen.
Croydon Council was granted £622,000 from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to run the hub.
The council and partners already provide wider support for rough sleepers, from accommodation for single homeless people to the Croydon Churches Floating Shelter and an emergency winter shelter hosted by Crystal Palace Football Club.
The council’s Gateway service has also placed vulnerable rough sleepers in 11 one-bedroom flats under the principles of Housing First, which offers long-term accommodation to homeless people with specialist wraparound support.
“This 24-hour, 365-day hub is the latest in a series of measures we have introduced with local specialist partners to address rough sleepers’ individual circumstances and turn their lives around.
“This hub is about more than giving rough sleepers somewhere safe to stay; it is a place where they get help with their finances, medical needs and other factors so the council and our local partners work with them to end their homelessness for good.”
Councillor Alison Butler, deputy leader and cabinet member for homes and Gateway services
To refer a rough sleeper, contact StreetLink by calling 0300 500 0914, visiting their website or downloading their app on iOS or Android. If you’re concerned a rough sleeper needs urgent medical help, dial 999.
