Scheme to reduce homelessness in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough supported by Police Commissioner

A central government funded project to look at new and creative ways to reduce homelessness in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is being supported by Police and Crime Commissioner, Jason Ablewhite.

Councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were awarded £736,000 to work together to prevent homelessness in January 2017. The scheme, now in place for over a year, is working with a range of partners who can all play their part in preventing homelessness.

Police Commissioner, Jason Ablewhite met with members of the Trailblazer service, housing officers and representatives from criminal justice services at an event in Huntingdon earlier this month (May 9th) to discuss developing clearer pathways for people with experience of the criminal justice system.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Jason Ablewhite said:

“The Trailblazer project gives us a great opportunity to look at what prevents vulnerable people from finding suitable housing. People can find themselves homeless for a whole variety of reasons: they may be in debt, struggling with complex needs, coming out of prison or having issues with landlords.

“Working together we can ensures all agencies play their part in preventing homelessness to allow people to live fulfilling lives. There is still a long way to go but I am optimistic that together we can make homelessness an unacceptable outcome.”

The Trailblazer team is building good relationships with other sectors on behalf of local authority housing teams, for example with criminal justice services, hospital discharge teams, and children’s and adult social services.

Helen Brown, Trailblazer Project Homeless Prevention Manager said:

“Many offenders face difficulties securing and maintaining a home which can contribute to a chaotic lifestyle. It was good to have representatives from so many different housing and criminal justice services working in partnership to help address these difficulties. The agencies have agreed to build on the ideas that came out of the event.

“The Trailblazer project can only be successful with the commitment and support of our partner agencies. We are extremely grateful that The Police and Crime Commissioner has pledged his support in helping to make homelessness the unacceptable outcome.”

For more information visit: https://cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/trailblazer-flyer.pdf