New outreach worker to help the homeless in East Northants

A new outreach worker has been recruited to help and support homeless people in East Northants.

East Northants Community Services (ENCS) has recruited Amy Byfield to the position and included details of her new post in its May newsletter.

It says: "We have recently recruited an outreach worker as part of a partnership with East Northants Council and Support Northamptonshire.

"Amy Byfield joins us with the aim of supporting rough sleepers in the area and working to prevent homelessness with individuals who may struggle in housing.

"She is also working to support individuals who have been housed by the council during the Covid-19 crisis.

"She will work closely with our night shelter staff and as a team, we hope to create a holistic approach to support individuals affected by homelessness."

Rushden Night Shelter is currently closed due to Covid-19 but prior to shutting, all the residents were re-housed and ENCS is continuing to work with the council to support them.

It is hoped that the shelter can re-open as soon as possible.

The outreach worker post has been funded by the MHCLG Rough Sleeper Initiative Funding, which East Northants Council (ENC) successfully bid for last year.

A spokesman for ENC said: "This post provides support to homeless individuals across East Northants and is for an initial period of up to 31 March 2021.

"The council’s most recent estimate, undertaken in conjunction with other agencies in November 2019, was that 10 people were sleeping rough in the district.

"All those known to be sleeping rough have been offered temporary accommodation during the Covid-19 pandemic and the outreach worker will be working with them to help them find more permanent accommodation."

For more information about the outreach worker role or to make a referral, contact Amy on [email protected]

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