First Greater Manchester charities receive Mayor’s Homelessness Fund cash boost

Charities working across Greater Manchester have been given a cash boost as the Mayor’s Homelessness Fund awards the first round of grants.

Coffee4Craig, Early Break and Street Support Network will share more than £9,000 to help strengthen their efforts to eradicate homelessness across the city-region.

Originally set up to offer coffee to people experiencing homelessness, Coffee4Craig now works across Manchester and Salford providing a drop-in centre offering advice and support, and emergency accommodation. The charity has been awarded £1,185 to develop its network of 79 volunteers. Each volunteer will undergo a DBS check to allow them to work independently and provide enhanced support to the homelessness community, including help with accommodation.

Bury and Rochdale-based Early Break has been awarded £3,200 to deliver a 10-week early intervention street and community-based outreach service working with young people. The pilot scheme will identify young people living in supported accommodation, who are at risk of losing their homes because of substance abuse. Young people will be signposted into treatment services and other activities.

Street Support Network, a network of homelessness support currently working in Manchester, will receive £5,000 to expand its work across all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. The charity makes it simple for people experiencing homelessness, frontline workers, volunteers, businesses and the public to quickly and easily find out what services are available locally through its online portal and app. The funding will be used to map out organisations and support across the other nine boroughs, so anyone in Greater Manchester can use the website and app.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “The generosity of Greater Mancunians has been incredible. I said I wanted to make it as straightforward as possible to apply to the fund so we can transform this money into action as quickly as possible, so I’m proud to be able to make these awards today.

“Coffee4Craig, Early Break, and Street Support are already doing amazing work and this funding will complement and strengthen those efforts and the invaluable help and support they are providing to help people off the streets and get their lives back on track. I know there are many more organisations out there who share my ambition to end rough sleeping by 2020, and I urge them apply to the fund so that together we can make a difference.”

Hendrix Lancaster, CEO, Coffee4Craig, said: “Myself and the rest of the team at Coffee4Craig are so grateful for the opportunity to support Andy with his campaign to end rough sleeping. 

“We have been working alongside Manchester City Council and local councillors, homelessness charities and grassroots groups to implement real change. We see the Mayoral Fund as a welcome addition to the current ongoing work in Manchester and the personal addition each month from Andy is an overwhelming gesture to support his commitment to the cities rough sleepers.”

Rhyse Cathcart, Rochdale Team Leader at Early Break, said: “Early Break is pleased to be one of the first recipients and project pioneers of Andy’s Homelessness Fund. We are committed to the vision of ending rough sleeping across Greater Manchester by 2020 and hope our work will be a foundation for preventing young people who are at risk of becoming homeless ending up on our streets.”   

Viv Slack, Street Support Network, said: “We connect people who are homeless and need help, and individuals and businesses that want to do something to help, with local organisations that offer services.

“We have been working closely with lots of fantastic organisations in Manchester over the last 18 months, including Barnabus, Mustard Tree and Coffee4Craig. We are also working on ideas generated by the Manchester homelessness charter action groups. This funding will enable us to connect to even more organisations across Greater Manchester, so that anyone experiencing homelessness in the region can get the help they need.”

The fund has reached more than £50,000 in just a few weeks thanks to the generosity of local people, Andy’s salary, and pledges from the 27 housing associations across Greater Manchester. The fund remains open for applications and community and voluntary organisations – any group established to help homeless people – are encouraged to apply.

To find out more and make an application visit www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/homeless-fund-applications or email GMHomelessFund@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk.

Andy made the announcement at the former Woolpack public house in Salford, which is set to be transformed into a community hub after Coffee4Craig were given a 25-year-lease on the derelict property.