New intervention hub for homeless in the City opened
A new ‘intervention hub’ helping vulnerable and homeless people in the City opened this week providing services such as rehab support and emergency accommodation.
Police will be inviting people to attend the ‘hub’, which will be running fortnightly, by giving them an ‘intervention notice’. This notice explains where the ‘hub’ will be and what services are available as well as a bit more information about the initiative and why it is running. The first 'hub' took place on Wednesday 13 June.
The initiative is being run by a number of organisations including the City of London Police, City of London Corporation, St. Mungo’s, Westminster Drug Project, and NHS East London Foundation Trust. It aims to help anyone sleeping rough in the City by securing them accommodation, obtaining important medical assistance for their mental health and wellbeing and finding drug and alcohol addiction support.
For those people with local connections outside of the City of London, swift referral into neighbouring services will be provided.
Chief Inspector Jesse Wynne from the City of London Police’s Community team said:
“There is no one type of rough sleeper and people find themselves living on our streets for a whole variety of reasons.
“Our ultimate goal is to offer appropriate assistance to those sleeping rough and to help them through working closely with our partners. Effective prevention and support services should mean there isn’t a need for enforcement by the police.
“Tackling homelessness requires all elements of the public and third sector to work together. Through this initiative we believe combining our efforts is the way to make a real difference.”
Randall Anderson, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Community and Children’s Services Committee, said:
“Homelessness is an issue that remains a real challenge across London.
“The intervention hubs are an important piece of partnership work which represents an excellent opportunity to help more people find appropriate housing and build new lives.
“We are working hard to support rough sleepers every day, offering emergency accommodation and providing help that best matches their needs.
“The City Corporation is committed to supporting people who find themselves sleeping rough, and working closely with our partners we are identifying new solutions to reduce the risk of homelessness in the Square Mile.”
Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said:
“We are delighted to be a part of this exciting initiative in the City of London. The services provided by our Square Mile Health team can and do make long-lasting transformations in the lives of local residents, corporate communities and rough sleepers. This programme will enable us to enhance the support available for this vulnerable group of people in their recovery journey.”