Case Study - HARP (Homeless Action Resource Project)
Southend / Westcliff-on-Sea
To date the Southend Fund has provided grants totalling £4000 to HARP to assist them with their core running costs.
HARP provides a 24 hour service to help and assist the homeless in the Southend area through a night shelter, day centre and medium stay hostel arrangements with associated health and other services.They aim to assist people into independent living accommodation and help them to re-enter society with dignity and hope.
There are only 71 sheltered accommodation beds available in Essex. HARP provides 20 of these. 20% of their client base are aged 16-18 years and a further 25% in the 19-25 age bracket.
The night shelter, based in York Road Southend, provides 14 short term beds, as well as many other services including provision of a hot meal for not only the resident guests, but also anyone else who arrives hungry at the premises. A further 6 beds for medium stay residents are provided by their Contact & Tenancy Sustainment Centre, which provides specialised services to some of the most serious of cases and those who are most difficult to house in the local community.
Youth Development is making a real difference - one young person who has benefitted from the project is quoted as saying "HARP saved my life". The costs of running these two services is broadly covered by recurring grant income though it can never be depended on entirely each year.
HARP also runs a Day Centre based in Westcliff which handles up to 20,000 visits each year to assist people with all problems arising from homelessness. It provides hot meals for up to 50 people each day, some of whom may not have eaten for several days. There are shower and washing facilities and a creche for families who are in transit/temporary accommodation with nowhere to go during the day. The Centre needs continual funding to meet its core running costs.
HARP provides an emergency service for those who are genuinely in need and without the benefit of a roof over their head. Basic human welfare relies heavily upon the provision of such a fundamental service and they help some of the most disadvantaged and underprivileged members of society.