Hampshire homeless charities say government's new funding will only act as a "small stop gap"
It's after the government announced over £50 million will be pumped into councils and organisations and £37 million will go to community groups
Hampshire homeless charities are telling us the government's new funding will only act as a "small stop gap".
It's after the government announced over £50 million will be pumped into councils and organisations and £37 million will go to community groups - in the hopes to tackle homelessness.
Janice Hughes, Chief Executive of Two Saints, said: "The £50 million was an additional one-off award for the current financial year of Homeless Prevention Grant made to local authorities.
"It is to recognise the pressures on them to fund temporary accommodation for homeless families and single people.
"As such we are not likely to see very much, or any of it, filter down to our services as it will be used for additional bed and breakfast accommodation and the like.
"While any additional funding is welcome, the short term nature of this announcement is only providing a small stop gap.
"The sector continue to call for long term funding solutions to find everyone a permanent home and give them the support they need to maintain their tenancy."
Kelly Headen, Head of Services at Step by Step charity, is telling us the funding is great, but she has some concerns.
She said: "It's great that there was the £50 million top up to the council homelessness funding that was announced last year, which is supporting local authorities in delivering their statutory duties.
"Then this week, we've had an extra £37 million fund that's separate and going to be focused on community led provision and prevention, which is really, really good news.
"They're very much welcome, but the test, as with all of these things, will be whether the funding actually gets to the frontline services.
"Then also how long it's sustained for."
Ms Headen told us what she'd like to see introduced.
She said: "Community-based support, early intervention, and really tackling the actual underlying core issues and challenges that we're facing.
"If we can get in there early enough and actually start to unpick support a bit more early on in schools and helping in all those sorts of things, that we definitely do and I know so many other charities do, too.
"Trying to support young people earlier, and community like youth clubs and all of those things that have deteriorated and gone and stopped funding.
"Those were really essential pivotal things in our communities years ago which meant that young people actually had somewhere to go for support outside of their families.
"That type of provision, I'd love to see being redesigned and reinvigorated."