Wiltshire's rough sleepers to get better access to Covid vaccines after £150k in funding
They want to encourage more to get jabbed
Wiltshire Council have secured a grant of £150,438 from central government to build on the work already in place to encourage rough sleepers to get vaccinated and find more suitable accommodation.
The local authority have been working with partners to promote take-up of Covid-19 vaccines in homeless and rough sleepers.
They're collaborating with public health to take vaccines to individuals with a health bus.
Government funding has already been used to assist with the prevention and spread of the virus and initiatives such as 'Protect' means any verified rough sleeper is made an offer of accommodation.
Wiltshire Council will now be working out what to do with this latest round of money.
Cllr Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing said:
“We have a committed team who work with the homeless and rough sleepers 365 days a year to provide support and accommodation. We welcome this new funding which will strengthen those efforts to ensure everyone has access to the vaccine and other measures to keep safe against COVID-19. There are a myriad of reasons why people become rough sleepers and our rough sleepers team go out on the streets to work with them to find the best solution and a safe place to stay. We will now discuss with partners how we can most effectively spend this new funding to ensure that work has the greatest positive impact.”
If people see someone on the streets they can contact Streetlink which connects rough sleepers with local services that can support them.