St Petrock’s service looks for local CSR partner
Without support from local business, the future of a service run by local charity, St Petrock’s, is at risk. Started in 2010, St Petrock’s' Private Rented Service was set up to help address the limited accommodation options in Exeter available for single people who are homeless but do not have a statutory right to housing. While initially funded by Crisis – the national charity for single homeless people - for the first two years, this funding stream has ended and while all efforts are being made to attract funding, St Petrock’s is looking for a local Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partner who would be interested in helping fund this service.
Acting as a broker, linking St Petrock’s clients with landlords, the Private Rented Service is provided by one worker and acts as a guarantor in reducing financial risks to landlords and assists in forging links between new tenants and local support services. A vital part of the service is identifying new and potential landlords through the reduction of risks involved in offering tenancies to homeless individuals.
To-date the Private Rented service has accommodated and supported 39 individuals into tenancies in Exeter and surrounding areas. Of these, 70% had experienced repeated incidences of homelessness or had been rough sleeping for many years and therefore required one-to-one support to help make this transition.
Of those clients accommodated, 82% have sustained their tenancies for more than 6 months. Where some of these tenancies have ended this has often been a result of clients moving to find employment and re-engaging with family – all positive steps. As support is vital to maintaining successful tenancies, our worker continues to provide support to 19 individuals at various levels.
While it is difficult to measure the effects of services such as this have on the wider community, some work has been done (for example by the New Economics Foundation, The MEAN Manifesto and the New Policy Institute). Estimates vary but suggest the cost as being between £24,350 and £26,000 per homeless person.
Using a mean figure of £25,175, St Petrock’s Private Rented Service offers a saving of £856,000 to the ‘public-purse’. The cost of running this service is £42,000, representing a small fraction of the estimated saving to public expenditure in response to homelessness, whilst improvements in the quality of life of those receiving these services are almost impossible to measure.
Mel Hartley, Project Manager of St Petrock’s, explains “We’re doing everything we can to keep our Private Rented Service, as having this route into accommodation has made a huge difference to our clients' lives, particularly at a time when demand for our services is increasing.
“We have a number of bids in place to secure funding for this service but the funding environment is increasingly difficult, so there’s no guarantee of success.
“St Petrock’s has always been fortunate in receiving a high level of local support and our hope is that local companies reading this will recognise the potential CSR value of being associated with St Petrock’s which has been delivering effective and flexible services for people in crisis for over 19 years in Exeter and will get in touch with us.”
St Petrock’s currently has a waiting list of clients looking for private rented accommodation. If your company is interested in discussing CSR opportunities with St Petrock’s' Private Rented Service and/or would like more details please contact Gill Luckings by email gill@stpetrocks.org.uk.
