Funding success for 20 flats to be used to support homeless in Manchester

Funding success for 20 flats to be used to support homeless in Manchester

Manchester City Council has successfully bid for government funding, which will help to secure accommodation for some of the most vulnerable people currently homeless in the city.

The Council has secured significant grant funding – worth £1.37m – towards the purchase of 20 one-bed flats by March 2021.  The total scheme costs, which includes funding for furnishing the properties, will be £2.7m with match funding provided from the Council.  

This injection of financial support through Next Steps Accommodation Programme (NSAP) is to ensure that people sleeping rough who were brought into emergency accommodation at the beginning of the Covid pandemic do not return to sleeping rough. 

These one-bed flats will house people currently living in supported temporary accommodation who are ready to move on to a more stable environment.  This in turn will free up space for those currently in emergency beds in Covid hotels or on the streets in need of supported accommodation. 

Manchester provided more than 322 bed spaces bringing people inside early on in the pandemic and has successfully moved many people into more settled accommodation. Now only 85 people remain in hotels. 

Work is currently underway to identify and acquire suitable properties and rehouse people into this new accommodation.  

The Council’s Homelessness team will identify people who are ready to take on tenancies and move on from supported accommodation. 

Councillor Suzanne Richards, executive member for Housing and Regeneration said: “The Covid pandemic continues to impact every part of our lives and housing insecurity is a big worry for many people who would never have considered themselves at risk of homelessness.  

“It has highlighted even more starkly the need for more secure and affordable accommodation for vulnerable people in our city. This financial support is a step in the right direction and will help us to help people who are ready to take the next steps in their journey out of homelessness and into stable accommodation.” 

Councillor Luthfur Rahman, the council’s lead member on homelessnessaid: “This is crucial funding, which will allow us to buy flats that will make a real and lasting impact on the lives of people who have fallen on difficult times.  

“One of the biggest pressures that we have faced is a lack of accommodation for people to live when they have come off the streets. Securing a long-term solution is crucial if we are to give people stability and prevent them returning to a life on the streets.   

“Since the pandemic started, we have helped several people who came off the streets to get their lives back on track with the right support that they need to start their recovery.” 

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