A victory for YMCA Exeter!
DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL CONFIRMS HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION FUNDING WILL CONTINUE AFTER SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN FROM LOCAL YMCA.
After a year of campaigning, Devon County Council (DCC) has announced that they will continue to fund the 18+ Homeless Prevention Contribution until March 2025, in the wake of an announcement last year that would have seen this vital lifeline cut. This is delightful news for YMCA Exeter who led the campaign to push back against the devastating proposed cuts.
In a Devon County Council Cabinet meeting on 9th February 2024, Councillor James McInnes confirmed that due to additional funding announced in the Secretary of State's Written Statement on 24 January 2024, the Cabinet is now able to ‘retain the budget for the Authority's contributions to homelessness services, providing further time for engagement with districts on the longer-term arrangements.’
“This news is a wonderful result for all those who seek to help the homeless all across Devon,” says YMCA Exeter Joint CEO, Si Johns. “For YMCA Exeter, the £157,000 a year we receive from DCC enables us to intercede at the crisis point of a young person’s life and give them the tailored, supported care they need to move forward.”
“We appreciate that councils across the country are under enormous financial pressures, but Devon County Council has made an excellent decision today. Funding Supported Housing for the homeless, saves lives and saves money. We hope that other Local Authorities across the country will see the wise decision of Devon and consider their own services. We'd like to say thank you to Devon County Council for listening to the voices of service users and the general public, calling for this essential funding to continue.”
On 22nd February 2023, Devon County Council first announced the proposal, beginning a public consultation, inviting Devon to give their opinion on cutting funds to the 18+ homelessness prevention funds.
By July 2023, the results were in. 100% of respondents said ‘No’ to the funding cuts. 139 people described the cuts as ‘short-sighted’. Other words used to describe the cuts included: ‘Catastrophic’, ‘Immoral’ and ‘Devastating’.
Through the current 18+ Homeless Prevention package, Devon County Council is paying YMCA Exeter a contribution of just £35 a week towards the essential support services they provide to 85 homeless young people, whom they house. Each year around 100 young people move through these 85 spaces having been given the chance to turn their lives around and progress on with their lives. That’s a 24/7 Personalised Support Service, for just £5 per person per day.
If the Homeless Prevention Contribution had been cut, Devon County Council could have seen an increase to their costs of over £924,000 due to those homeless young people not receiving the care they need at a critical time.
Moving forward, YMCA Exeter is committed to working with DCC and the district councils to agree longer-term arrangements for homelessness services past March 2025.
“This year regulations are being implemented to ensure supported housing is the best value for money,” explains Si Johns, “Now that the cuts are not going ahead we won’t risk losing excellent service providers before the assessments have been made.
“Confirmation of funding, allows us time to work with the districts to find ways to fund the essential services in other ways other than through Devon County Council’s homelessness preventative funding.”
The team at YMCA Exeter.