A region-wide scheme to give rough sleepers a bed has helped more than 800 people into permanent accommodation in its first year.
A Bed Every Night aims to give homeless people food and somewhere safe to sleep.
But it also works to help people into more permanent accommodation as part of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s flagship policy to eradicate rough sleeping by 2020.
Since its launch in November 2018, a total of 2,204 people accessed temporary accommodation through a Bed Every Night.
Of those, 817 have been helped by rough sleeping teams from across the region into longer term accommodation.
Salford Mayor Paul Dennett says the project has proved a great success in the city - where 63 rough sleepers have been helped off the streets and into their own homes during the first year.
“Some of the rough sleepers our teams have helped wouldn’t even speak to our staff when we first approached them,” Mr Dennett said.
“Others insisted they were fine sleeping rough and refused any help at all while some were only too glad to get off the streets that very evening.
“No matter how long it takes our teams won’t give up and they continue working with people until they are ready to take up the help on offer.”
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Salford City Council has 30 flats to use as accommodation, several shared houses across the region and eight emergency beds.
Rough sleeping team also plan to use bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels that will take dogs if needed.
Outreach workers are on the streets each day looking out for people and responding to reports of people sleeping rough.
Mr Dennett adds: “It’s not just a question of putting them under a roof and expecting them to cope, though. Our support workers will refer them to any health care they need and will even go with them to appointments if need be.
“We will help them anyway we can – from furniture to finances, from identity documents to helping them find education and training.
“The houses and flats are all in addition to the 30 beds at the Narrowgate night shelter which is open all day with a communal area for residents to use – and the same support is available to anyone using the Narrowgate.
"We’ve even moved a group of people from the shelter into a shared house after they became friends while staying there.”
The Bed Every Night scheme has received the support from former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany.
The donated all of the proceeds from his testimonial to the Mayor's homelessness fund.
And a number of restaurants signed up to an initiative which saw £1 added to every customer's bill with all proceeds to the cause.
