Deadline: 16-Jun-21
The Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) is seeking to award grants around tackling the causes of homelessness or supporting move-on housing.
The majority of people become homeless because they are unable to afford private rent, have not obtained state benefits to which they are entitled or are not eligible to receive state benefits to cover rent payments (no recourse to public funds). Certain groups of people, such as ex-offenders, ex-armed forces, those with substance or alcohol abuse/recovery and immigrants with an unresolved immigration status, are more likely to become homeless. Becoming homeless is often triggered by a traumatic event such as a relationship/family breakdown, becoming unemployed or serious illness.
Priorities
- Tackling the causes of homelessness
- Increasing the availability of low income and supported housing units
- Providing advice and support services to those in danger of homelessness, eg NEETs, unemployed, families, offenders before prison release, etc
- Resolution of unresolved immigration status or other causes of NRPF
- Preventing, reducing and delaying homelessness, especially rough sleeping, with programmes targeted on resolving the conditions of the high-risk groups which lead to homelessness
- Offering a system of effective and sustainable services and support for homeless people that includes provision of housing as well as the interventions needed to enable the individual to become economically and socially independent
- Developing and testing models of intervention and support that can be used more generally, and outside Oxfordshire, to tackle a prevalent cause of homelessness
- Providing evidence of financial, social and health returns to support the change of local and national government policy to ensure the availability of public funding for effective solutions
- Move-on housing
- Refurbishment of existing housing stock to make it more suitable for residents
- Using existing houses to provide supported housing
- Providing support to those already accommodated in private rental or housing association properties
- Providing support services to those people needing move-on housing
- Amounts available: £5,000 to £25,000. Collaborative applications are welcomed.
- Group annual income: Under £5,000,000
- The beneficiaries must be people (not an individual), rather than animals and the environment more generally.
- They will fund ongoing running costs, one-off events or a programme of events.
- The number of people participating will be considered and proportional funding assigned as appropriate.
- The project budget must be itemised and well costed, indicating where other funds have been secured.
- The project MUST be completed within 12 months of application.
- Funds cannot be awarded to cover costs already paid for.
- The grant may be used as match funding or partial project funding if prospects of other funding can be shown.
- Rough sleepers
- People at risk of eviction
- People with no recourse to public funds
- Hidden homeless people
- Reduced levels of homelessness
- Improved economic wellbeing
- Increased employabilityImproved physical/mental wellbeing
- Reduced offending/anti-social behaviour
- Reduced substance misuse and addictions
Eligibility Criteria
- Be a registered charity, constituted group or social enterprise/CIC
- Be based in Oxfordshire and/or have majority of beneficiaries in Oxfordshire
- Have at least three trustees or committee members who are not related to each other
- Have a bank account in its own name with at least two unrelated signatories, open for three months or more
- Be open to people of all religions and political affiliations, and must not proselytise.
For more information, visit https://oxfordshire.org/grants/housing-and-homelessness-covid19-grants/