HARP Helped 1,232 Local People in 2019
We have released our figures for 2019, showing that large numbers of local people continue to be caught up in the housing crisis.
Last year, we worked with a total of 1,232 people who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, providing specialist advice and support. Of these, 558 were using HARP’s services for the first time, with 216 of these new people sleeping rough, 213 sofa surfing or of no fixed abode, and 122 at risk of losing their accommodation and needing help and support to keep it. Seven people did not wish to disclose their housing situation.
432 people were housed in our accommodation over the course of the year, 20%more than in 2018. People moved on from HARP to live independently on 95 occasions, an increase of 8%. We have space to accommodate around 220 people every night in HARP emergency and supported accommodation.
HARP volunteers and staff also served around 76,000 meals across our services and we provided 2,293 night packs and 336 food parcels.
HARP’s chief executive, Jackie Bliss, said: “It’s shocking to think that there is still this level of need in our town, with so many people reaching crisis point. The numbers show that our staff and volunteers continue to work incredibly hard to get people the support they need, and I’m pleased that we were able to address the need by helping more people into HARP accommodation, and helping more people move on into the wider community, which is our ultimate aim. None of this would be possible without our supporters, so I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped us to turn lives around in 2019.”
