£2m Extra Welsh Government Funding To Help Tackle Homelessness

Wrexham’s Assembly Member has reminded Wrexham Council that there has been an extra allocation of cash to help tackle youth homelessness and rough sleeping in Wales.

Local authorities, working with voluntary sector organisations, are being invited to apply for the Welsh Government funding and Wrexham’s Assembly Member, Lesley Griffiths, is encouraging Wrexham Council to bid. The Welsh Labour Government funding is in addition to the £8m of funding provided via the Homelessness Prevention Grant programme and the £6m allocated to local authorities to prevent homelessness.

Locally homelessness has become a more prominent topic with the ad-hoc encampment set up recently on the Groves school site, with an action plan put in place by Wrexham Council to deal with the situation.

We are told there is a meeting of the ‘Gold Command’ team to catch up on progress shortly that is due to include Lesley Griffiths AM for the first time, with the plan itself still remaining confidential. We wrote earlier this week on the brief overview of the plan that was made public, but are now told that every Councillor has now been given a copy – with strict reminders on how it is a confidential document.

Lesley Griffiths AM has written to Wrexham Council to raise awareness of the extra funding and encourage the Local Authority to apply.

She said “Homelessness is an issue in Wrexham and across the country and it is clear that not having a decent home adversely affects many aspects of life.”

“Ensuring everyone has a safe and secure home is a key priority for the Welsh Government and it has acted resolutely by already announcing £14m to tackle the issues.

“This additional funding will help those struggling to get the support they need and I hope the Local Authority will take advantage so people in Wrexham are able to benefit.”