How we help rough sleepers

We have many services in place to help and support those experiencing rough sleeping. Working together with other organisations our primary aims are to prevent rough sleeping and identify those experiencing rough sleeping as early as possible to support them into housing and access the support they need:

• Street Outreach Team
• Severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP)
• Rough sleepers team
• Other services available for rough sleepers
• Rough sleepers employment support initiative - referral form
• Street count information

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough please share the details with our outreach workers using the:

• StreetLink website (monitored daily)

See also:

• Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs)

Street Outreach Team

We are currently funded via the Rough Sleeper Initiative to employ a team of four outreach workers who work with partner agencies to identify and help rough sleepers in Adur and Worthing all year round.

The Street Outreach Team focuses on identifying rough sleepers and providing flexible, person centred support to access accommodation and services to meet health and housing needs.

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Severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP)

SWEP provides shelter for all rough sleepers in extreme weather conditions, such as when temperatures are forecasted to drop to 0 degrees Celsius or below for three days or more, and during heavy rain or snow. During hot weather additional outreach shifts are delivered to go out into the community to check welfare of rough sleepers. It can be triggered at any time of year and people are provided with shelter and support.

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Rough sleepers team

We work with a variety of partners to support and inform our work with rough sleepers in our community, such as Sussex Police and Probation, Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust, Worthing Medical Group and a number of charities, including:

• Turning Tides website
• Emerging Futures website
• Change Grow Live website
• WORTH (Specialist Domestic Abuse Service) - on the WSCC website
• Brighton Women's Centre (BWC) website

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Other services available for rough sleepers

Turning Tides a local charity deliver a number of services:

• A Community Hub in Worthing providing homeless people with support, advice, assessment and referrals, open 9am to 11am, 5 days a week, see:
  
  • St Clare's Community Hub - on the Turning Tides website
• Supported accommodation for single homeless people.
• Support workers to help rough sleepers with mental health needs, complex needs and those dealing with drug and alcohol addiction.
• Host Change Grow Live substance misuse recovery service in the hub, see:
  
  • Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Network - on the Change Grow Live website
• Health Central Surgery a clinic in Worthing providing GP care for homeless people, offering a range of services including substance misuse treatments and support, sexual health advice and mental health assessment and deliver a clinic in the Community Hub, See:
  • Health Central Surgery - on the Worthing Medical Group website

See also:

• Turning Tides website

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Rough sleepers employment support initiative

If you are aware of a single adult confronting the risk of homelessness and seeking to acquire new skills or employment, please utilise the form provided below:

• Rough sleepers employment support initiative - request employment, training or volunteering support - referral form

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Street count information

Adur & Worthing Councils complete a monthly 'snapshot' street count to ascertain the number of rough sleepers in the area as well as tracking the total number of people who experience rough sleeping in a month to help us understand where support is most needed.

We also conduct an annual count each November, which is part of a national count and comprises numbers of people seen on the night as well as an estimated (intelligence based) figure, based on information from partner agencies as to who they believe to be rough sleeping.

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