For the first time in Exeter, anyone who is rough sleeping in the city this winter will have to opportunity to come indoors and “safe sleep” for three continuous months, starting on December 1st.
Nicola Forsdyke, Exeter City Council’s Housing Options Manager explains, “We have been discussing how we could extend our normal Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) for rough sleepers with our partner agencies St Petrock’s, BCHA, who run the city hostel, Gabriel House and Julian House, who manage the Street Homeless Outreach Team, for some time and we’re delighted to get this new...
Shelter analysis of government statistics reveals that over 2,100 children will wake up homeless this Christmas day in the South West. And worryingly, with councils feeling the pressure of our affordable housing shortage, the number of families across Britain living in B&Bs – accommodation which is often cramped and unsafe for children – has more than trebled over the last five years. Shelter is calling on the public for urgent support this Christmas, as its advisers struggle to cope with demand for help from the growing number of families battling to keep a roof over their heads. To...
The first grant to be awarded by, a newly founded trust, the MAXIMUS Foundation UK has been made to St Petrock’s, Exeter’s charity for people who are homeless.
“The trust is set up to give one-off grants to small community based charities whose work means something to our employees or resonates with what we do as a business,” explains Jude Hartley, administrator of MAXIMUS Foundation UK, “and St Petrock’s was nominated by one of our Exeter employee, Trish Leworthy.”
“We were delighted to receive this award of £2,500”, says Mel Hartley, project manager of St Petrock’s, “...
Alarming new figures from housing charity Shelter have revealed almost 500 people in the South West were put at risk of losing their home every week in the last year. In an analysis of statistics from the Ministry of Justice, the charity identified how many people are at risk of eviction and repossession as well as the ‘home threat hotspots’ across the South West where people are most likely to face the risk of losing their home. Gloucester topped the list in the South West, with as many as 1 in every 115 homes under threat of eviction or repossession, followed by Bournemouth (1 in 119),...
Dom Morris, Exeter's Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, has announced the first step of his “100 days of action” campaign to tackle one of Exeter’s biggest problems – homelessness.
Dom said: "The level of homelessness in Exeter is unacceptable and immoral, the problem flies in the face of the recent prosperity our city has enjoyed.
"Exeter is becoming extraordinary. Unemployment in our city has fallen by 58% since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, national trends are seeing youth unemployment falling by the fastest rate since records began and those on benefits...
Nightstop Devon provides free emergency accommodation for 16-25 year olds who find themselves without a home for the night. We place them with our vetted and trained hosts who have a spare room, and want to help a young person in need.
February was our busiest month in the 13 years we've been running. Our wonderful hosts provided 75 bednights to 12 vulnerable young people.
We've just launched a fundraising campaign called #NIGHTSTOPWARM. To highlight the fact that so many young people are facing a cold night on the streets, we're asking the public (you!) to...
Homeless people across Exeter and parts of Devon have been given a boost with the awarding of crucial funding to tackle the ongoing problem of homelessness.
Quarter of a million pounds has been awarded from the government’s Help for Homeless fund.
The successful bid was lead by Exeter City Council and includes Exeter, Teignbridge, East Devon, Mid Devon and Torbay.
An additional combined total of £35,000 will be donated by the local authorities involved in the project.
Help is at hand for anyone who finds themselves homeless over the Christmas period.
Exeter City Council is making people aware of its out-of-hours emergency number for anyone in crisis over the holidays.
"We know that Christmas is a special time of the year for many people but recognise that it can also be a challenging time for others, with family fall-outs and incidents of domestic violence," said Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead Councillor for Housing and Customer Access.
"If anyone finds themselves homeless over Christmas or knows of someone out on the streets, they can...
For the fourth year in succession, financial services company Provident Financial has made an award to Exeter’s charity for people who are homeless.
“We’re really impressed with the work that St Petrock’s does," said Cathy Atkinson, Community Affairs Executive.
“We are delighted to be in a position where we are able to provide £30,000 this year to support it’s valuable work as part of our community partnership programme."
For St Petrock’s, it’s very welcome news.
Mel Hartley, the charity’s manager said: “We are very grateful to Provident Financial...
A shocking 90,000 children in Britain – the equivalent of three in every school – will spend this Christmas homeless, government figures show.
With their helpline already stretched to breaking point, Shelter are launching an emergency appeal in response.
The figures also show that the number of homeless families living in B&Bs has almost doubled in three years. This is particularly alarming following the shocking results of a Shelter investigation into living conditions in B&Bs.
The in-depth investigation into 20 families found that well over half felt...
