Rough sleeping outreach

Our Rough Sleeper Outreach team work collaboratively with Durham County Council to support people rough sleeping, and the hard-to-reach community in County Durham.

Support provided:

Supporting people who sleep rough to access services, including signposting to partner agencies
Supporting people currently accessing our services with access support, particularly those who may be without a safe and secure home or facing eviction
Developing relationships with partner agencies to improve service delivery overall across County Durham
Manage a caseload of people who meet the threshold for rough sleeping outreach support

To facilitate this, we work alongside partner agencies including Housing Solutions, CDLA (County Durham Lettings Agency), non-commissioned supported accommodation providers (such as Changing Lives and Jigsaw Recovery Project) and other key partner organisations.

Our team will:

Be present at regular drop-ins at community-accessible venues, such as Sanctuary 21, and the Reconnect Hub
Undertake ‘sweeps’ regularly, which involve verifying rough sleepers in the early morning
Attending meetings with key stakeholders such as accommodation managers to discuss upcoming and recent referrals to Durham County Council for people identified as sleeping rough in County Durham