The project vision of No First Night Out is that every resident of Tower Hamlets and the City of London who is at risk of homelessness is prevented from rough sleeping for the first time.
Our aim is to extend and enhance the traditional Housing Options service, reaching beyond the ways people would usually get help with housing and homelessness, by delivering the project through a unique set of partners: the No First Night Out Partnership Group.
By taking this approach, we hope to increase the opportunity for contacting people at risk of homelessness and delivering effective rough sleeping interventions, and to drive a wider cultural change in the way services are designed and delivered. The result will be better identification of the risks of homelessness and earlier, targeted intervention to stop rough sleeping.
Our main source of funding is the MHCLG Rough Sleeping Grant, which the Local Authorities were successful in securing through the 2016 bidding round and again in 2018 (Rough Sleeping Initiative). However, additional funding and in-kind contributions from our Partnership Group are essential to the project.
All members of the NFNO Partnership Group are asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU represents our shared commitment to working in partnership to prevent homelessness. It reflects the dedication of all those who have signed it to deliver significantly improved services for those facing their first night on the street.
Part of our role in bringing together this diverse group of organisations is to host the regular NFNO Partnership Meeting. These meetings are an opportunity for local government, statutory and third sector organisations to meet, share knowledge and good practice, and nurture new and innovative partnerships that have a positive impact beyond the boundaries of our own project. See our News page for announcements of upcoming Partnership meetings, as well as information about our previous meetings.