Manchester Homelessness Partnership Newsletter: March 2023

Welcome to the Manchester Homelessness Partnership‘s March newsletter

March 2023

In this newsletter….

Manchester Homelessness Partnership – Reviewed
Action Groups

  • April Action Group Meetings
  • Employment Action Group: New Co-Chairs
  • Spotlight on … Strategy Scrutiny

Funding, Resources and Events
Contribute to the MHP newsletter

Manchester Homelessness Partnership – Reviewed

Since we relaunched the Partnership last summer, we have been reviewing the role and structure of the Board, with the goal of re-shaping it to make it as effective as possible.

Neil Cornthwaite, Partnerships Manager at Barnabus, consulted those involved in the Partnership, producing a new structure for the Partnership and way of working for the Board.

We are looking forward to sharing more details about these changes in the near future, and would like to thank Neil for all his hard work over the past few months.

Action Group Updates

April Action Group Meetings:

Our Action Groups are open to anyone who shares our goal of ending homelessness – please contact us if you’d like to come along, and share with your networks and anyone you think might be interested.

Employment Action Group: New Co-Chairs

After chairing the Employment Action Group since 2016, we are sad to say that the brilliant Chris Gopal (Business in the Community) is stepping down. We would like to say a huge thank you to Chris for all his hard work in chairing the group, which has facilitated hundreds of partnerships between employers and people who have experienced homelessness. 

We’re excited to welcome the new co-chairs of the Employment Action Group – Eddie (Standing Tall), Chris (Radical Recruit) and Rachel (Shelter)!

Spotlight on … Strategy Scrutiny Group

Aim: To lead on a city-wide, co-produced homelessness strategy.

History: Originally established to feed into and scrutinise the Council’s strategy on homelessness, the group decided to take a different approach and create a brand new strategy which would be co-produced from start to finish – becoming a strategy for the city as a whole, and all the services connected to ending and preventing homelessness.

Current/recent project: The group has recently worked with the Council on a review of homelessness in Manchester, and is beginning work on the next strategy.

Get involved: As the city’s new strategy for ending homelessness takes shape, it is important to have a range of perspectives to inform how we tackle homelessness – please get in touch if you are interested in joining the group.

Read Manchester’s Homelessness Strategy (2018 – 2023) here.

Diagram taken from the Manchester Homelessness Strategy, demonstrating the diverse approach towards providing support that is a principle of this strategy. It involves building self-expression, increased wellbeing, greater social inclusion and positive relationships in order to create a much deeper and more effective support structure.

Funding, Resources & Events

Lloyds Bank Foundation: National Influencing Programme
Deadline for expressions of interest: 19 May 2023

Charities and CICs seeking to influence and achieve change in national policy and practice around specific issues within accommodation, social security, and refugees and asylum seeker support can apply for grants of £30,000 – £150,000. Click here for more information and to apply. 

Collaborative Women: Reflections of You 
30 March 2023, 3:00 – 9:00pm, Terrace NQ

Collaborative Women presents a portraiture exhibition of its residents, covering themes of homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health and empowerment (poster pictured right).

Cornerstone: Project Worker job vacancy
Deadline for applications: 18th April

Cornerstone Day Centre, a community centre for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness based in Hulme, Manchester, are recruiting a Project Worker to help support their remodelled service. Find out more and apply here. 

The Charity Service Grant Fund: Preventing Homelessness
Rolling deadlines for applications

Applications for grant funding are invited from registered charities, community groups and voluntary organisations working to assist individuals who are disadvantaged, sick, have a disability and/or are living in poverty within Greater Manchester. The priorities are: preventing homelessness, reducing social isolation, and support for vulnerable families and children. For more information, email pete.yarwood@charityservice.org.uk  and apply here.

Contribute and have your say on the MHP newsletter!

Want to contribute to the MHP newsletter? Send over any events, resources or funding opportunities that we can share with the network, to help us in our aim of tackling homelessness in Manchester. We welcome constructive (and positive) feedback too! Drop us an email on zainab@macc.org.uk.