Mansfield homeless take First Steps to a new life

Six of Mansfield’s most entrenched rough sleepers, who have experienced street life for many years, have taken up residence in accommodation with wraparound support to help them rehabilitate and address their complex needs.

The £310,628 Mansfield First Steps project is funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Rough Sleeping Initiative and delivered by Action Housing with support from Change Grow Live (CGL) on behalf of Mansfield District Council.

The Housing First type model has been successfully delivered in other parts of the country and is now being brought to Mansfield as the first of its kind in Nottinghamshire outside the city.

Mansfield First Steps aims to help tackle rough sleeping at a grass roots level by providing housing and ongoing support to tackle addiction and mental health conditions.

The project will be supported by four dedicated workers with a specific substance misuse worker for Mansfield district.

It will deliver ten individual properties and a further 20 supported bed spaces in shared accommodation.

The new properties opened for the first time on July 27.

Coun Marion Bradshaw, portfolio holder for housing at the council, said: “This project will allow the council to give support to our most vulnerable rough sleepers who have really complex needs.

“The wraparound care will help them to secure a long-term tenancy in their accommodation and to address their health and wellbeing issues through targeted support.

The project will tackle rough sleeping head-on and help us to meet some of the targets set within the council's homelessness and rough sleeper action plan.

"We hope that it will be life changing for members of our street community.”

Anyone who is at risk of becoming homeless is asked to contact the council on 01623 463463 at the earliest opportunity so the council can work with them to prevent them being on the streets.

Alternatively, contact Framework’s Street Outreach 24-hour hotline on 0800 0665356 or visit Streetlink’s website here.