Day Centre & Temporary Winter Housing Provision

Really good news (shared via HOSTS) from Rachel Strange, Rough Sleeper Project Co-ordinator / Housing Projects & Regeneration Officer Community & Housing at Swindon Borough Council:

It’s been agreed by the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Cathy Martyn, that there will be a new day centre provision and temporary winter housing provision to be set up at the former Riverside School site off Queens Drive.

The site has been chosen as the base for the programme on the grounds that it will provide a hub for homelessness organisations and charities to operate from, including the new outreach team and that it will act as a first point of contact to access services such as mental health provision, health care and drug and alcohol support.

The building is in walking distance of the town centre, where the majority of our rough sleepers regularly visit.

In the next week or so the commissioning process will commence as the Council will be looking for a provider to take on the lease of the building for a period of 3 years and to run the day centre and the winter housing provision. The winter housing provision will be reviewed annually, and the successful provider will be responsible for recruiting and managing the volunteers.

Details of the commissioning process will be provided when available.

It’s part of the wider HomeSteps project that Swindon Borough Council has launched with the extra government funding that Swindon Borough Council has for its Rough Sleepers programme, and is in addition to the Housing First supported tenancies for which it’s seeking properties, so we should be able to help many of our rough sleepers to get off the streets this winter.