One of the priorities of the Church & Communities Programme is supporting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. 21 such projects have been supported to date, with grants totalling over £1.2 million (funded by the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington, the Earl of Northampton's Charity, and the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation). These range from a night shelter that rotates between different church halls, to support for people who are homeless to set up their own business.
Last year we commissioned a specialist group of evaluators to take a ‘deep dive’ into these projects, to find more about what they have achieved and to draw out the learning, including their response to delivering through the pandemic. They created an in-depth report in three parts, with a brief executive summary, four case studies and an informative short film.
The evaluation found that our homelessness funding is “already delivering significant social benefit” and that all grant holders have a positive experience of working with us. The report also has a series of recommendations about what to keep doing and what to build on.
Please find below the findings from the research.