Agenda item

The Director of Community and Children’s Services to be heard.

The Sub-Committee heard a presentation of the Area Director of Thames Reach and the following points were made:

·         Thames Reach was a London-based medium-sized charity that had been commissioned to deliver homelessness outreach services for the City of London Corporation from November 2020.  During the first four months of operation, contact had been made with 169 clients of whom 34 had moved into accommodation, seven had moved on and two had been reconnected.  The City of London Outreach Team took a whole team approach to reducing the number of people living on the street and supported new rough sleepers via a rapid response, assessment and offer approach whilst longer-term rough sleepers were offered more personalised support based on their strengths. 

·         The Outreach Team worked to a number of targets including rapid response to referrals, offers formed and delivered within 72 hours of first contact and supporting 75% of eligible reconnections into safe accommodation, with an overall aim to reduce the number of people living on the street.  A focus was placed on multi-agency working, including with the Rough Sleeping and Mental Health Programme (RAMHP), Parkguard, Doctors of the World and the City Assessment Service.  Work was underway to embed the service model and increase staffing, as well as to recruit 20 volunteers.  In the longer-term if was hoped to reduce the Street Count to under 20 individuals and long-term rough sleepers to under 30 individuals. 

·         With regard to the differing approaches taken to new and longer-term rough sleepers, the Lead Manager advised that as longer-term rough sleepers often stayed in the same area, external agencies were able to provide a consistent level of support.  New rough sleepers tended to be more transient and Thames Reach worked closely with neighbouring boroughs to ensure that individuals received consistent support.  In response to a question from a Committee Member, the Area Director agreed that it was difficult to evidence the number of individuals that had been supported away from the streets, but work was being undertaken with commissioners to identify robust measures to monitor progress and this could include use of the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN). 

·         ACommittee Member noted the value of engaging with individuals in their first language and suggested that consideration be given to producing a multi-lingual leaflet which outlined how individuals could access support.  The Area Manager advised that team members had a range of language skills which would further be built on through the planned volunteering programme and that the Team also used a 24/7 language phoneline.  Another Committee Member suggested that some longer-term rough sleepers might respond better to those with experience of homelessness and the Area Director confirmed that Thames Reach placed a strong emphasis on employing team members with lived experience of homelessness. Thames Reach was also working closely with Street Buddies, a peer-led outreach service in the Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea areas.  A Committee Member suggested that details of any volunteering opportunities be provided to Members to circulate across their networks and that the Heart of the City charity offered a way to involve small and medium-sized enterprises. 

The Chairman thanked the Area Director, Lead Manager and Area Manager of Thames Reach for their excellent presentation and requested that regular updates be provided to the Sub-Committee on the work of Thames Reach.

RESOLVED, that the presentation be noted.