Local MP, Maria Miller, welcomed additional Government funding to support the Borough Council’s efforts to address rough sleeping in the town.
Maria said: “Over recent years the Council has gone to great efforts to reducing rough sleeping in Basingstoke and helping those affected get the support they need to get off the streets and stay safe. The number of people sleeping on Basingstoke’s streets has consistently fallen, from 26 in 2016, to zero in 2020, with two recorded in 2021.
“I am glad to see this progress being backed with more Government funding, so that the Council and partners can continue to build on their good work.”
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s housing and social inclusion team has been awarded £653,118 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Rough Sleeper Initiative fund to continue providing specialist services to stop rough sleeping on the borough’s streets. The money will go towards the council’s target to end rough sleeping in the borough by 2024.
The funding, which will deliver a three-year programme, will support the Council and its partners through the Basingstoke and Deane Social Inclusion Partnership. The partnership is made up of public services, commissioned housing providers, voluntary and faith-based groups and former rough sleepers and has been working together since 2015 to reduce homelessness and address the causes of homelessness with a shared vision.
For more information on supporting the Social Inclusion Partnership to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness visit www.realchangebasingstoke.org.uk