West Midlands Combined Authority have secured £1.75m worth of funding from the Government’s Next Steps Accommodation Fund.
The fund aims to carry on the work started by the Government’s Everybody In campaign that housed homeless individuals during the pandemic, however as the pandemic drags on, local authorities are struggling to maintain the standards that were put in place early in to 2020.
Chief Executive at Citizen and Chair of West Midlands Housing Association Partnership, Kevin Rodgers, said:
“It’s fantastic that we have been successful with this bid to provide extra accommodation across the West Midlands for people who really need it and it’s great to be working with the West Midlands Combined Authority on tackling homelessness.
“Homelessness is a serious issue and we are committed to playing our part. In our business strategy one of our objectives is to improve our support services and tackle homelessness. By 2023 we hope to have an additional 76 new homes that will provide temporary accommodation – and it’s great to see that this initiative will in part help us to achieve this ambition.
“I am excited and optimistic to deliver this project and support those who have found themselves homeless or sleeping rough.”
The Government has committed to giving £10m nationally to local authorities as part of the Next Steps Accommodation programme.
