Campaign to support rough sleepers launches in Cambridge

It’s highlighting Street Aid which raises money from donation points across the city.

A new campaign has launched in Cambridge to help residents and visitors understand why there are rough sleepers in the city, how the city council and partners support them, and how local people can help too.

The message is that everyone has a back story, but the council and local partners are able to offer support to each individual rough sleeper in Cambridge to help start a new chapter and make a permanent move away from a street-based lifestyle.

In many cases, rough sleepers will have experienced trauma or adversity in their lives. 

Some may have mental ill-health, some may struggle with alcohol or drugs. 

It is often these life events and circumstances that not only lead to someone sleeping on the streets in the first place, but also create long-term barriers to rough sleepers feeling able to accept support to move away from a street-based lifestyle.

Alice Gilderdale is Cambridge's lead for Community Wealth Building and Community Safety:

The campaign coincides with the annual Street Aid Week, which raises awareness of Cambridge Street Aid.

Street Aid was set up in 2016 for two reasons:

• To give local people an alternative way to support rough sleepers other than giving cash – a practice which, however understandable, runs a high risk of making things worse rather than better.  
• To pool people’s donations to provide bigger, more meaningful grants to help rough sleepers to get off, and stay off, the streets. The grants could fund therapy, or training to get back into work; cover the costs of transport to work, or essential ID documents to find work or accommodation; help pay for furniture and other essential household items where people move into private accommodation; and much more.

Ian received a grant and spoke to Star Radio about how it changed his life:

The campaign also aims to educate people about the availability of support in Cambridge. 

Rough sleepers do not need to beg for money to access a place to sleep, meals, or laundry and shower facilities.

The offer of accommodation is there for people in Cambridge who have been verified by the local street outreach team, if or when they are ready to accept it. 

Nobody can be compelled to accept or remain in accommodation offered to them, with some people who are used to being part of a street-based community finding it very difficult to remain in accommodation off the streets.

Gerri Bird is Cambridge's lead for Housing and Homelessness:

"Supporting rough sleepers is not a straight-forward process. I know that sometimes people get the impression that people are sleeping rough because the council hasn’t offered them any accommodation, but that is not correct. The o¬ffer of accommodation is there for people who are rough sleeping in Cambridge, but we can’t force people who may be dealing with other issues to take up this offer when they are not ready to. 

“Anyone who is at risk of losing their home should get in touch with our Housing Advice Service at the earliest opportunity. It may be that we can support you to stay in your current home, to find suitable alternative accommodation, or in an emergency to find temporary accommodation – no-one should be ending up with nowhere to sleep.”

There are a number of ways you can donate to Street Aid as an alternative to giving cash to people begging:

• Donate online: cambridge.gov.uk/cambridge-street-aid-week
• Use a payment card at one of a number of fixed terminals dotted around the city centre
• Text STREETAID 3 to 70085 to donate £3.

If you see someone sleeping rough, report their location to Streetlink on 0300 500 0914 or click here.

For further details of the services operating in Cambridge click here.