Taskforce working to eradicate homelessness in Telford

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, homeless people have been offered accommodation, and a dedicated team has been established to ensure this provision continues.

To achieve this, a rough sleeping Covid-19 taskforce involving the council and its partners Maninplace, KiP@Maninplace and Stay Telford have met daily since the beginning of lockdown to identify, discuss, monitor and provide solutions to clients presenting as homeless that day.

Since lockdown was announced, the council has placed 163 people in B&Bs, and with new clients presenting as homeless each day, there are around 20 at any one time residing in emergency accommodation. The authority has also housed 151 people and prevented 172 from becoming homeless.

Toni Guest, the council's housing service delivery manager said: "That meeting was to look at who we knew was rough sleeping, engage with them and offer them accommodation immediately through the Emergency Night Inn, a number of B&Bs and hotels that we are working with or directly into their own tenancy.

“All the rough sleepers were contacted and offered accommodation. Ever since then we have continued with that offer of accommodation to everybody who is rough sleeping or is going to be rough sleeping if we don’t intervene.

"The Covid-19 taskforce meeting happens daily and has happened everyday since March, with the exception of weekends and Bank Holidays.

“At every meeting we go through every single client we have had contact with that day, or who we are aware has been rough sleeping through our outreach workers or through the public who report it to us.

"We offer them immediate accommodation through one of the B&Bs or hotels we are working with or through sourcing them accommodation. We then follow that up by working intensively with that person in trying to find them 'move on' accommodation so that they are not in emergency accommodation for long.

"We help them to move into a home that can be theirs for as long as they hopefully will remain there, either with a private landlord or a through social housing.

“The Coronavirus pandemic has had the effect of allowing us to communicate more effectively with rough sleepers. For example, we have one case where we really did not think this person would accept emergency accommodation. They had been rough sleeping for a long time and we had offered continuous help but this was declined each time because they didn’t feel safe inside four walls. Eventually after continuous offers from the outreach workers, this person accepted B&B. This has enabled us to open up communication channels and encouraged some of those rough sleepers who didn’t want to come in, to come in.

“We definitely want to continue keeping people off the streets so, for the immediate term, we will definitely continue what we are doing, working with clients in offering them alternative accommodation. Prevention is the key so we will be trying to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first instance and working on trying to find them “move on” accommodation.

Councillor David Wright, the authority's cabinet member for housing, said: “We, together with our partners, have achieved so much and so quickly.

“This pandemic has meant that we have been able to offer unprecedented support for those people who were sleeping in the streets.

“Later this year the hotels and B&Bs we are currently using will be allowed to reopen to the general public. We are working hard to make sure when that time comes, those being accommodated that way continue to have a roof over their head.

“Eradicating rough sleeping and homelessness is a key priority for Telford & Wrekin Council. Our new Housing Plan for the next five years is being drafted and, if approved, will begin to be implemented later this year.

“We know there is a solution and we, as a borough don’t need to return to seeing people sleeping in the streets if the resources and investment is there.”

Terry Gee, chief executive of Stay Telford, said: "The Ministry of Housing, communities and local government have commended Telford & Wrekin Council and our partnership; the taskforce that meets everyday, that nobody else in the country has had such a handle on their rough sleepers as we do in Telford.

“That could not have been possible without the partnership work with Maninplace and, crucially, with the local authority.”