New Hope: Rapid Response

Learn about some of New Hope’s work from their team:

In the first three months of 2021, thanks to the success of ‘Everyone in’ and funding from Homeless Link’s Winter Transformation Fund – which enabled New Hope to accommodate people in hotel accommodation –  there was often no one sleeping rough in Watford. Since April, the numbers of people sleeping on the streets have increased but are thankfully still low. Part of the reason for this is Watford Borough Council’s new Single Homeless Pathway.

New Hope’s Outreach Plus is the first stage on the pathway. People who are new to rough sleeping are quickly identified by our street outreach team who respond rapidly, which can include helping someone to access a bed at the Sanctuary’s Emergency Accommodation. Each month, individuals successfully move on from the Emergency Accommodation to the next stage in the pathway; this could be to a different New Hope accommodation service, such as the Community Home or New Hope House, to sheltered accommodation, the private rented sector, One YMCA, Grow, or Housing First.

Rebecca Palmer, New Hope’s Fundraising and Communications Manager, recently spent a couple of hours one Thursday night on street outreach.

“We headed out at 10pm on a very cold night with clear skies and a bright moon. There was a definite chill in the air and the temperature had dropped significantly. Taking torches to light our way and rucksacks full of food, drink, and warm clothes, we headed out. The next two hours were spent walking around Cassiobury Park and the town centre, looking for people who were sleeping rough in places where we know people often bed down – generally areas which are hidden.

We found two separate individuals, lying on the hard ground in sleeping bags but not yet asleep. One of whom was glad to take a rucksack and said he would visit the Haven in the morning for a cooked breakfast and a cup of tea; the other did not want a rucksack but did ask for help with accommodation – thankfully, a bed was found for her at the Sanctuary Emergency Accommodation for the following night.”

[Outreach Plus is funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and tendered through Watford Borough Council. ]