A new outreach service funded by the Isle of Wight Council will offer specialist help and support to those who are sleeping rough or without a settled home.
Launching on 4th November, the weekly drop-in at The Salvation Army Hall, in Pyle Street, Newport, will enable people in housing crisis to speak face-to-face to those who can help.
This will include specialist homelessness services such as the Salvation Army and the council’s Housing Options Team and Inclusion Navigators, who work with people who are rough sleeping or at risk at being homeless.
The sessions will provide a safe space in a warm and welcoming environment each Friday, between 10:00 – 14:00 for people to talk about the issues they are facing and seek guidance and further support if required.
This includes those who are:
- Sleeping rough;
- Temporarily staying at someone’s house (sofa surfing);
- In emergency accommodation;
- Without a settled home.
Rachel Lee, service manager, Salvation Army IOW homelessness services, said:
“Sleeping rough is a very harsh way of life; it is difficult, lonely and isolating — and very hard to get out of.
“A drop-in can help to link people to the services that can help them.
Article continues below this advertisement “Staff from the Island’s specialist homelessness and housing advice services will be on hand each week to help people with basic housing and welfare enquiries.”
The weekly drop-in can support with a variety of issues, including:
- Support to identify suitable housing options;
- Applying for welfare benefits and grants;
- Getting services from specialist agencies, such as health and wellbeing;
- Support to access debt and money advice;
- Connecting with social, religious and cultural opportunities;
- Support in managing mental health issues, or alcohol and drug issues;
- Getting into work, training or education.
Councillor Ian Stephens, deputy leader and Cabinet member for housing provision and homelessness, added:
“It’s unacceptable to many of us that people in the year 2022 find themselves in the position that they have no place to call home.
“Having a safe and secure home is one of the most fundamental needs that each and every one of us has. For people without a place to call home the level of risks that they face are multiple — risks to their physical health, risks to their mental health, risk to their emotional wellbeing and risk to their physical safety.
“It can be difficult for people to know where best to go to get support — this new drop-in service will connect people sleeping rough or without a settled home, to local services and the practical help and support they so desperately need.”
For more information, visit: www.iow.gov.uk/Council/OtherServices/Homeless-Section/Concerned-about-someone-who-is-sleeping-rough/
What should be done is Council should be on streets and moving on those fake homeless people (coming over from mainland ) that are begging in our towns and taking money from our most vunerable and tourists, it’s upsetting children too . Yet police and council do nothing,it also takes away from genuine homeless.
So these people come over here, paying extortionate ferry fares, to beg on the streets, when they are more likely to get more money in Portsmouth or Southampton?
If you are going to make crap up, at least make it marginally believable.
Freddie is correct. Amazingly there are a couple who pay the fares from Portsmouth to beg in Ryde & Newport. Presumably people here are less used to seeing street beggars & believe them to be in need. They are trading on the good will & sympathy of people who can ill afford it. One lady gave them sandwiches & tried to get them a referral to Street People charity but when she came back to tell them what they could do for them they had cleared off. They don’t want assistance from charities as they have a place to live. They only want cash
I still haven’t worked out how you tell the difference between fake and real homelessness. Don’t they all live on the streets?
it must be very upsetting for the children to see this situation
A very worthwhile service for anyone in the unenviable situation of being homeless.
not quite anyone – some of them are homeless because they are anti social s cumbags that don’t pay the rent, smash the place up, are offensive to the neighbours and property owner, use it as a drugs den and are normally in and out of jail/court… those that are like that deserve to be homeless, as they bring it on themselves.
Being homeless, that’s a laugh, what like the ones that get out of vans or the nice black Mercedes that drops them off from the mainland. Don’t waste our council money on this. Working people are finding it hard now, so who is more important, working people or so called homeless, who always have the latest phones, littering the streets, praying and pouring it all on. Don’t be so damn gullible.
These people that are homeless should get themselves to France get a dingy are come in as an illegal immigrant. You get money, roof over your head & your warm.