At its Full Council meeting on Tuesday (14th November) Crewe Town Council resolved to establish a winter emergency fund to support the homeless of Crewe as a response to an ever-growing problem in the town.
In May, Councillor Diane Yates, Mayor of Crewe, announced that one of her Mayoral charities would be those community groups supporting homeless people in Crewe. Councillor Yates brought together a working group of churches, charities, community groups and statutory agencies who work with people who are rough sleeping or homeless in Crewe to help coordinate their efforts and identify issues and areas where additional support is needed.
At the second meeting of the Working Group at the beginning of November, it was highlighted that there was an urgent need to help organisations provide a rapid response over the winter months until the Crewe Night Shelter begins in January 2018, whilst further plans were developed for the medium term.
The Town Council offered to step in and lend a hand by establishing the emergency fund to provide grants to community organisations who work directly with those who are sleeping rough or are homeless in Crewe over the winter period.
Councillor Diane Yates, Mayor of Crewe said “I want to thank the people of Crewe who volunteer to work in churches, charities and community groups to support the homeless as they are doing a wonderful thing, but they are faced with an ever-growing demand for their services. I hope that the decision taken by the Town Council will help them to close some of the gaps in the current provision and provide extra hot food, shelter and companionship as we move into the cold months and the Christmas period.
Organisations need to complete a simple application form which can be obtained from Crewe Town Council by emailing [email protected] or by downloading the application form here. We recommend that you read the Winter Emergency Fund Guidance here before applying.
Applications need to be returned before 5pm on Sunday 26th November for consideration during the first week of December.
If organisations would like to discuss the Winter Emergency Fund in more detail, please contact Hannah Marr, Community Engagement Officer at Crewe Town Council, on 01270 756975 Option 1
