A specialist team of mental health professionals helped more than 1,000 people who were rough sleeping or in temporary accommodation in 2023.
The Mental Health Navigators from the Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) have seen a rise in the number of people needing help, including working professionals, as a result of the cost of living.
The RSI operates in Braintree, Epping Forest, Basildon, Brentwood, Chelmsford, and Maldon districts.
It is a partnership service involving Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) working with the district councils, Essex County Council, and multiple local charities and organisations. The service in Braintree and Epping Forest is funded by the Rough Sleeping Initiative and the service in Basildon, Brentwood, Chelmsford, and Maldon is funded by the Changing Futures programme.
Similar schemes operate in Southend and north east Essex.
Mental Health Navigators from EPUT make sure rough sleepers and people in temporary accommodation receive support for their mental and physical health needs.
They carry out mental health assessments, arrange health care checks, help people register with local GPs, and issue foodbank vouchers.
They also connect people to services that can support them with housing, benefits, food and clothing, education and work.
The people they help usually find it difficult to engage with services because they are marginalised and vulnerable. This can have a detrimental impact on their health and wellbeing.
Research by Northumbria University for Oasis Community Housing found that 94% of people facing homelessness have suffered trauma, such as domestic abuse, bereavement, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and relationship breakdowns. These experiences are often a direct trigger for homelessness, which in itself is also a traumatic event.
RSI Mental Health Nurse Angie Fillery, who works in Chelmsford and Maldon, said: “A lot of people we work with, or may work with, have a distrust of statutory services.
“So trying to meet them where they feel safe and supported is important.”
Tim Canny, RSI Mental Health Navigator for Basildon and Brentwood, said: “We see people in libraries, parks, community cafes like the Happy Hub in Basildon, and public spaces – wherever people feel comfortable and more at ease.
“We have close relationships with the outreach teams from Peabody and CHESS Homeless.
“Peabody have also employed a peer support worker who has lived experience of homelessness, which has really helped the service understand the impact trauma has on people and how we can best support them.”
The EPUT team estimate that they supported more than 1,160 people in 2023.
Angie said: “I have seen numbers go up massively, especially because we have got the rising cost of renting and landlords selling property, which reduces the amount of rented homes available.
“I have worked with a lot of people who are working, including professionals, who are sleeping in their car. It’s really difficult and that’s due to the economic situation.”
Finding suitable accommodation is also made more complex as housing benefit can only cover the cost of certain types of rented accommodation depending on local prices.
People may find it difficult to live in shared housing, which exacerbates mental health issues. Those who have pets may find it very difficult to find somewhere that accepts them.
EPUT’s team work closely with a wide variety of organisations to get people the support they need.
This includes council housing teams, charities such as CHESS Homeless, Sanctus, Open Road, the First Stop Centre in Braintree, and the Salvation Army, housing organisations such as Peabody and Eastlight, emergency night shelters, faith groups, drug and alcohol services, and food banks.
They also work closely with colleagues in EPUT’s mental health services.
Samantha Simpson, an RSI Mental Health Nurse working in Braintree and Epping, said: “We work with community mental health teams from EPUT because a lot of patients come through who are rough sleeping or in temporary accommodation.
“We work with care coordinators and we regularly check if there is anyone being cared for on inpatient mental health wards who do not have a fixed address who we are not aware of.
“This helps us to make sure those people have the wider support they need, by putting inpatient and community teams in touch with housing services.”
Working in partnership with other organisations to deliver more joined up and holistic care, and reducing health inequalities, are among the Trust’s key strategic priorities.
Comments from some of our partners on how working together through the Rough Sleeper Initiative partnership is empowering people in need and making a difference to their lives
Emma Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of Sanctus, said: “The homeless and vulnerable community at Sanctus Charity are benefitting greatly from the input of Angie and the EPUT team.
“Being able to access this service has meant that many individuals who would either have faced long waits to be seen by a professional or even considered ending their lives, now have a route to engage with local mental health services and feel heard and understood.
“This has also underpinned the work of our Support Hub Team and provided them with easy access to an invaluable provision.”
Adam Waller-Toyne, Service Manager for Essex Mental Health at Peabody, said: “As homelessness levels rise, and living costs soar, our peer workers are on hand to engage with and support people facing or experiencing homelessness in Essex.
“People who are forced to live on the streets are chronically excluded and have difficulty engaging with mainstream services, leaving them vulnerable.
“Our expert peer workers – some of which have experienced homelessness themselves – are understanding and empathetic, offering tailored support to help reintegrate homeless people into society.
“Together with the support of our partners and the fantastic network of local charities, we’ve collectively made a significant difference to the lives of more than 1,000 people in the community.”
Councillor Richard Siddall, Leader of Maldon District Council, said; “The partnership with EPUT’s mental health services is crucial to supporting some of our most vulnerable and isolated residents who have found it difficult to access and maintain support.
“Mental health conditions are generally over twice as high among homeless individuals and the support that Angie provides is crucial to enable them to access a range of services.
“By working collaboratively with our Homeless Officers and our Rough Sleeper Navigator, we have seen lives changed, not just in terms of mental health but in managing addiction recovery, accessing and maintaining housing and moving onto training and employment as well.
“With local authorities having limited resources, continued partnership working is crucial to tackling inequalities and rough sleeping across the Maldon district.”
Councillor Lynette Bowers-Flint, Cabinet Member for Housing, Health and Wellbeing at Braintree District Council, said: “This partnership has brought significant benefits for individuals who are at risk of rough sleeping.
“It has helped to bring agencies together to support some of our most disadvantaged residents, with the Mental Health Navigator role proving invaluable in supporting customers to engage with services and work towards finding a long term solution to their housing need.”
Councillor Lynne Foster, Chelmsford City Council’s Cabinet Member for a Fairer Chelmsford, said: “The Rough Sleepers Initiative scheme began in Chelmsford around five years ago and has since developed into an extensive and essential network of support for rough sleepers and those at risk of homelessness.
“Chelmsford’s housing crisis is of increasing concern and partnership working is needed more than ever.
“Understanding trauma and mental health has a crucial role to play in helping our most vulnerable residents.
“Our RSI Mental Health Navigator provides valuable support for both rough sleepers with very complex needs, and a growing number of homeless households in temporary accommodation for whom the uncertainty of their situation is very distressing.”
Councillor Holly Whitbread, Epping Forest District Council Cabinet Member for Housing and Strategic Health Partnerships, said: “This partnership has been invaluable in achieving positive outcomes amongst those hard-to-reach entrenched rough sleepers.
“This initiative has allowed us to support clients to recover from life on the streets, continue working to prevent rough sleeping and provides wraparound health and social care support and treatment. By providing specific mental health support and tackling the wider determinants of health, we’ve been able to treat the symptoms and effectively start to address some of the causes of rough sleeping.”
Marie Gentgall, Housing Options Manager at Brentwood Borough Council, said: “Partnership working is a fundamental element in ensuring Brentwood Council’s Housing Options team provide the best service we can to our most vulnerable applicants.
“The support provided by the RSI Mental Health Navigator role has empowered service users to engage with our officers and work collaboratively towards relieving their homelessness.
“With the limited resources available to local authorities, it is becoming increasingly important that we continue to work in partnership to tackle rough sleeping.”
If you see someone who is sleeping rough and want to connect them to support services, visit Streetlink.
An alert will be sent to local outreach teams, who can then help the person. If they are under 18, Streetlink advises you to call 999.