Groups can bid for share of £100k homelessness grant
BBCHomelessness charities and groups can bid for funding as a council announces a £100,000 grant.
Durham County Council said organisations supporting people sleeping rough could make multiple applications for individual projects up to a total of £10,000.
A recent government survey said rough sleeping was rising faster in north-east England than other parts of the country, with 162 people in the region sleeping on the streets on a single night in the autumn of 2025 – up from 124 in 2024.
The council said it encouraged "as many organisations as possible working in this area to bid for this support", with applications running from Thursday to 30 October.
In July, Andy Burnham made ending rough sleeping in the country his first policy pledge as the new prime minister.
County Durham groups can make multiple bids, with funding available for individual projects ranging from £2,000 to £10,000, the council said, adding the total awarded to any one organisation across all successful bids was £10,000.
Bids do not require an "exclusive focus on supporting homeless individuals or households", with "more holistic approaches to tackle the issue also welcome", the council said.
Councillor Dawn Bellingham said: "Clearly, preventing situations such as forced evictions due to escalating debt, would supplement all other support mechanisms already in place.
"We are working hard to ensure support is in place as early as possible for those facing that reality," she added.
