Two years ago, more than 15 charities teamed up to launch Street Support Nottingham, a website providing information about all of the services in the city that support homeless people.
From February this year, supported by the business community and Nottingham City Council, they are launching Nottingham Street Aid, an alternative giving platform that will make it much easier for people to donate money to help homeless people in Nottingham. Charities and other referral agencies will be able to apply to this fund to provide help to individuals who are homeless to enable them to leave the streets behind.
Paul Scotting, coordinator of Street Support Nottingham, said “We know that many people in Nottingham care deeply about those who find themselves homeless and would like to help but are concerned about how their money might be spent. This scheme provides easy ways for them to contribute to this fund, every penny of which will be spent on someone who is homeless.”
Members of the public are encouraged to look out for our posters and the contactless donation points that will be appearing across the city. Businesses interested in hosting one of these donation points are invited to contact Street Support Nottingham by emailing: [email protected]
People can also donate by texting STREET followed by a number from 1-20 to 70560 to donate £1-20 pounds to the fund.
Denis Tully, CEO of the Emmanuel House Support Centre expressed the enthusiasm for the initiative among the voluntary and faith sector. “Nottingham Street Aid provides an additional way for the community to be involved, with the knowledge that their donation will be a legitimate means of making a positive contribution to supporting someone out of homelessness.”
The finances to launch this initiative were provided by grants from Nottingham BID, Nottingham City Council and The Nottingham Building Society. Paul Scotting said “it is only through the generosity of these organizations that the voluntary sector has been able to launch this initiative. This funding pays for all administration costs of the scheme and means that every penny donated by the public will be used to help someone to move away from life on the streets.”
Councillor Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion at Nottingham City Council, said: “Sadly as the cost-of-living crisis bites, homelessness is on the rise. Thankfully there is a great support network in Nottingham to help but it needs extra funding to continue providing that support.”
To find out more information about the fund visit: www.streetsupport.net/nottingham