New hub to support "hard to reach" homeless

Homeless people could have access to a new centralised hub in Bournemouth if councillors approve new plans.

BCP Council’s cabinet will be asked to approve the purchase of the hall at St Stephen’s Church for a “health centre” that will offer advice services on top of healthcare provision.

Councillor Hazel Allen, who leads the council’s homelessness work, said the facility would help people “quickly receive the help they need to move off the streets”.

About 2,000 people each year request support with services provided via a range of different organisations.

But concerns have been raised that this arrangement often leads to duplication of efforts as well as requiring the motivation and ability to travel for multiple appointments.

Government funding has been provided since the start of the pandemic to provide housing and longer term support.

And the council is now proposing to use some of this to create a new multi-disciplinary team to provide its services as well as the new health centre, which is based on similar facilities in Southampton, Bristol and Exeter.

Its cabinet will be asked to approve these when it meets on May 26.

Improving access to services for those who are "marginalised and hard to reach"

A report published ahead of the meeting says this work would “address inherent inequalities and ensure good access to services for those who are marginalised and hard to reach”.

“All these services work well together but tend to operate independently which means that customers must go to different places for different things and involves an element of duplication,” it says.

“This relies on the availability of the service (often one person) and the individual’s motivation and capacity to travel and to attend appointments.”

The council is proposing to buy the St Stephen’s Church hall in Bournemouth to be a new base of operations which, the report adds, will provide healthcare support and debt, housing and employment advice.

Lead member for homelessness at the council, councillor Hazel Allen, said this would give “even easier access to services and support”.

“People experiencing homelessness are often very vulnerable with complex needs and require, not only support to find suitable housing, but also support around ongoing health issues,” she said. “That is why it is important to improve our services so that we can reach out to people and offer accessible support so that they can quickly receive the help they need to move off the streets and move on to a more positive future.”

The cost of purchasing the building has not been made public.

The report said the Bournemouth site was felt to be more accessible than alternatives that were considered.