Our Rough Sleeps Initiative (RSI) team work with other local services and providers to help rough sleepers in Medway.
The aim of the team is to:
- verify anyone who is found sleeping rough
- engage with them
- put a support plan in place to help them get off the streets and into suitable accommodation.
Rough sleepers are allocated a key worker. This key worker helps them to access various services to resolve their homelessness. This can include benefits, GPs and other agencies.
Since the RSI team was created they have helped over 300 people to move off the street and into stable accommodation.
Rough sleeper programmes and activities
Programmes run by RSI include:
- Outreach - a team that finds and verifies people who are seen or reported as homeless. They add these people to their case load to support them.
- Providing short stay accommodation - this is usually the first step to get the rough sleeper off the street. It's an opportunity for the RSI team to work out why the person is rough sleeping and what help they may need.
- Co-ordinating and co-operating with other support providers to get to know and help each rough sleeper.
- Housing First - to provide stable, permanent housing to rough sleepers.
- Navigator service - a small team that visits people who have moved into their home after rough sleeping. They support the person to maintain their accommodation until they feel confident enough to manage it independently.
- Funding rough sleepers who move into supported housing - this is usually for those who have been rough sleeping for a long time and find the move into independent accommodation challenging. The client will have their own dedicated support worker.