Rural Housing Week

During Rural Housing Week, we want to take the opportunity to spotlight the leading role that Herefordshire Council has taken in tackling and relieving homelessness within the county.

Working in partnership with a huge range of organisations through Project BRAVE, the council has successfully brought in over £8 million of external funding to enable it and its partners to deliver services and accommodation to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Project BRAVE is a multi-agency initiative to find solutions for homelessness within the county and has had a significant impact. Since March 2020, over 250 households have been accommodated and 62 new units of housing have been created, housing some of our most vulnerable homeless individuals.

One of the many projects within the county is the Rough Sleepers Accommodation Programme (RSAP), where the council successfully bid for just under £500,000 grant funding to help buy six one-bedroom properties for our rough sleepers.  

These will offer a safe and secure space for our most vulnerable people with an individual support plan, tailored to each person's needs, in order to greatly improve their chances to successfully move on into healthy independent living.

Herefordshire Council offers a responsive first point of contact that delivers for those at risk of homelessness or who are already homeless. These are:

• Free advice for anybody who is at risk of homelessness
• Support to maintain their accommodation
• Access to Home Point - the council's choice-based housing register that works with a wide range of landlords to provide emergency and temporary accommodation to an increasing number of individuals and families

Rough Sleepers Accomodation Programme

Video of one of the new Project BRAVE properties

Contact and further information

If you believe that you're threatened with homelessness then you do not need to wait until you are homeless before making contact and seeking assistance. The earlier to you can get in touch, the better chance we will have to assist or advise with resolving your situation and preventing you from becoming homeless. 

You can call our Triage Service between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday on:

• 01432 261546 or 01432 261547
• Email housing.enquiry@herefordshire.gov.uk

If you are under 18 and homeless, please call our Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) team on:

• 01432 260800 and ask to speak to the duty social worker (please tell us if you are a care leaver)

Homeless emergency out-of-hours

If you are homeless in an emergency and your call is outside of these hours above, call us on:

• 01432 261600

What to do if you're concerned about someone who may be sleeping rough

If you have concerns that someone may be sleeping rough and in need of professional support - the most efficient way to make our dedicated Rough Sleeper Outreach Team aware of them is via StreetLink

Please also be aware that our outreach team is not a 24 hour service, so if you have concerns for someone's immediate safety and/or wellbeing - please consider whether there is a need to contact the emergency services.