You can read the full e-bulletin here.

Being able to connect and why it is so important
Mobile phones play a crucial role in the lives of people experiencing homelessness, serving as a vital tool for communication, access to resources, and maintaining a sense of connection with friends, family and place.
Here’s how and why mobile phones are essential for this population.
Mobile phones are not just a luxury but a lifeline for people experiencing homelessness. They facilitate access to essential services, enable communication and social connectivity, and provide a sense of security and normality in an otherwise unstable situation. Addressing the barriers to mobile phone access is a critical component of supporting people experiencing homelessness.
This is where we need your support.
Manchester Homelessness Partnership needs basic mobile phones to give out to people experiencing homelessness. Organisations have sim cards to give out but need mobile phones. Essential phone numbers can be pre-loaded and support and training given in how to use apps and technology.
Do you have connections in the tech world that could help? Are you a business that could donate mobile phones as part of your Corporate Social Responsibility? Are you an individual that could buy and donate a mobile phone? If the answer is yes, please email  info@mhp.org.uk Thank you in advance for your support. 

Action Groups and ongoing work
Activities and Wellbeing Action Group

This month, members reviewed the initial survey feedback from people experiencing homelessness and what activities they liked to do and what were the barriers stopping them from taking part in activities. The survey is going to continue throughout August. 
The action group welcomed a new member from Cracking Good Food and the next meeting will be taking place on Tuesday 17 September from 2pm.
If you are interested in attending or sharing an activity that can be promoted to people experiencing homelessness, please email info@mhp.org.uk 
Here is a snapshot of some of the feedback received: 

What activities would you like to take part in?	What time of day do you prefer to get involved in activities?
Gardening, Pottery, Swimming, Art, Cooking, Photography, Football, Watersports, Wellbeing sessions, Martial Arts, Music and Mindfulness/Meditation	Afternoon (12 noon to 5pm) Morning (9am to noon)Early evening (6pm to 9pm)
What currently stops you from taking part in activity sessions?
It costs me too much to get to the activity  I do not have suitable clothing or equipment  I don’t want to attend on my own   I have a disability that I worry won’t be catered for

Physical Health Action Group
It’s time to book your stall for the Manchester Homelessness Partnership’s Homeless Health Event, which is being organised by the Physical Health Action Group to tie in with World Homelessness Day (10 October).
Date:  Wednesday 9 October
Time:  11am to 2pm  (set up your stall from 10am)
Venue:  Moss Side West Indian Sports and Social Club,  M14 4SW
The event will be open to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, as well as professionals working within the sector.  Posters and flyers will be available soon. There will be a free lunch, goody bags, and haircuts available. 
This is an opportunity for you to showcase your service and/or to promote services which can improve the health and wellbeing of people experiencing homelessness.
To book your stall before 13 September, email b.simpson@caritassalford.org.uk

Women’s Homelessness Census
In September 2023, Manchester City Council, along with other boroughs in Greater Manchester, contributed to the women’s rough sleeping census – a national initiative to understand the nature and scope of women’s rough sleeping across England.
The census consisted of the Council collaborating with key homelessness organisations across the city, to conduct a census questionnaire with women who have experienced sleeping rough at some point in the three months prior to the census.
Women who completed the census were given a voucher incentive and were also supported with any needs they disclosed. Click here to read the full article by Katie Parker, Project Manager in Commissioning from Manchester City Council.

Useful Information 

Homeless Link and NACCOM  – Migrant Homelessness Briefing 
Homeless Link and NACCOM (No Accommodation Network) have have published a new policy briefing exploring the key drivers of, and potential solutions to, homelessness amongst migrants. The briefing outlines the the key drivers of migrant homelessness and what policies the new Government should implement to create a society with a home for everyone.

Staying Put – The Centre for Homelessness Impact
The Centre for Homelessness Impact Staying Put report is now published and contains some robust and positive data. Professor Michael Sanders (KCL) found consistent and strong evidence that Staying Put significantly lowers the risk of homelessness for care leavers. They have estimated that if the number of participants in the Staying Put schemeincreased by just 13 per cent across the country, over 300 care leavers could be prevented from experiencing homelessness per year. Staying Put is a scheme that enabled young people to remain with their foster carers, if both parties agreed, from the age of 18 to 21. This was evaluated to see how this reduces the risk of homelessness in care leavers.

Experiencing Communities – Groundswell
“Communities are tricky places to navigate, filled with unspoken rules and hierarchies,” tells Tess in her exploration of communities, focusing on mental illness and homelessness.  

Young people’s experiences of homelessness are distinct from adults – Homeless Link
Their pathways into homelessness, experiences while homeless and exits out of homelessness are different than adults. Young people also face multiple forms of structural disadvantage. For example, young people face a disproportionate risk of poverty, receive reduced welfare benefit entitlements, have a lower minimum wage, and face discrimination in the labour markets. Click here for further information and resources from Homeless Link.

Right Care, Right Person Approach – Greater Manchester Police
Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) is a national approach, supported by the Home Office and the College of Policing. It is designed to ensure that people of all ages, who have physical/mental health and/or social care needs, are responded to by the right person, with the right skills, training and experience to best meet their needs. Under RCRP, when a concern for welfare is reported, Greater Manchester Police will strive to identify the nature of the concern and where suitable, signpost the caller to the most appropriate agency to meet their needs – which is not always the police.
You can read further information on the following information sheets:
– What is RCRP? 
– Does it fit the bill?
– AWOL/Absconder Patients
– Mythbusting 1 and 2

Listen Up! Insight 4: The cost of living crisis – Groundswell
This is the fourth in a series of Insights from Listen Up!. This Groundswell lived experience-led project tackles homeless health inequalities by amplifying the voices of people experiencing homelessness to:
– Increase key decision makers’ awareness of the barriers to healthcare faced by people experiencing homelessness across the country
– Create a movement of people experiencing homelessness, influencing decision makers and holding them to account for changes in practice and policy. 
This Insight looks at the cost of living crisis.

Health and Homelessness

Homeless Healthcare Service and their mobile nursing outreach 
Here is the current schedule of the mobile nursing outreach service that takes place during the week from the Homeless Healthcare Service at the Urban Village Medical Practice. 
– Barnabus: Monday and Thursday morning (clinical room at Barnabus)
– Booth Centre: Monday and Thursday morning (van)
– Cornerstone: Wednesday morning (van)
– Hostels: Monday afternoon (van)
– Women’s hostels: Tuesday morning (van) 
You can read their latest annual report here. 

British Red Cross Framework: Strengthening commissioning and provision of healthcare services for people seeking asylum
The British Red Cross have recently published a report which confirms what we well know: that people seeking asylum in England often have complex health needs and yet face significant barriers to accessing timely, quality, and appropriate healthcare. The report sets out a framework of good practice to remove these barriers and ensure people can access the healthcare to which they are entitled.
This framework contains good practice for strengthening commissioning and provision of healthcare for people seeking asylum in England at a local level, as well as on a national policy front. The research was produced in collaboration with three peer researchers with lived experience of seeking asylum, alongside the St George’s Hospital Migrant Health Research Group. You can find out more and read the report here.  
Thank you to the Faculty for Homelessness and Inclusion Health for sharing this information. 

“Time to Act: A new review of kidney health inequalities”
In the UK, kidney health and access to kidney care is markedly influenced by wider social determinants of health, such as living in deprivation or experiencing homelessness. In light of this, Kidney Research UK have published a new report on tackling kidney health inequalities. The report brings together evidence from people affected by kidney disease, health professionals and researchers. It sets out recommendations for the research community and priorities by patients, to move us towards equitable kidney health for all. You can access the full and lay reports here.
Thank you to the Faculty for Homelessness and Inclusion Health for sharing this information. 

Need help with your health? 
Then look no further than the Groundswell accessible health guides aimed at people experiencing homelessness and those who support them on a range of health concerns. You can download/view them on the Groundswell Hub. 

Blogs, Guidance, Journals, Research and Reports  55 homeless children have died in Temporary Accommodation since 2019  Homelessness and temporary accommodation have contributed to the deaths of at least 55 children in England since 2019, according to new research shared exclusively with ITV News.The data, compiled by the National Child Mortality Database, shows the majority of those who died were babies under the age of one. A spokesperson for the government called the findings “completely shocking”.Dr Laura Neilson, chief executive of Shared Health Foundation who helped uncover the data, told ITV News the deaths were “incomprehensible and preventable”, adding that “clinicians, politicians, and local government must act now to prevent any more of these tragedies”.“We do know [unexpected deaths in temporary accommodation are] associated with being out of routine, staying in different places, no room for sterilisation – you can’t regulate the temperature very well,” Dr Neilson said.“Babies might be sleeping in mum’s bed or sofas, it might be damp and there [are] often other people living in that community, that house, so it’s quite chaotic.“But we know that all of this means that it is more likely for small children and very small babies to die”.You can read further information here and here on the ITV website.

Training and Consultation Click here to read all the training available and where you can feedback on open consultations.

Niall’s Corner In this update, I am sharing the most up to date, comprehensive list of food-banks and pantries that cover all Greater Manchester. I complete a four monthly check on all food-banks and pantries asking for updates via email or phone calls. There is now 277 food-banks/pantries listed in Greater Manchester which is an increase of 55 since October 2021. This link is dynamic and holds the details of nearly every food-bank and pantry in Greater Manchester. I am continuing to actively search for additional provision to add to the list. Please feel free to share the list with colleagues. I volunteer at Supporting People in Need in Manchester, a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) hostel and my role is the support worker for arranging No Fixed Address (NFA) bank accounts for homeless people with no ID or fixed address in association with HSBC.