Rough Sleepers in Shropshire

Think Pieces

By Basma Aboudihaj · June 26, 2023

The Shropshire Rough Sleepers service, now known as RESET, was first introduced in our November newsletter and has now been up and running for 4 months.  

The RESET team is made up of Shropshire Council, Shropshire Recovery Partnership, the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT), Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service (SDAS), The Shrewsbury Ark and Intuitive Thinking Skills. 

The goals of the programme are to get the rough sleepers of Shropshire in service, engaging them with physical and mental health support and on the programme to combat their problems around drugs, alcohol,

 nutrition, accommodation, education /training, budgeting and any other help required to help them off the street. 

The ITS team working on RESET consists of Stephen Farrelly (RESET Manager), Helen Mason and Kerry Brookes (RESET Navigators), and Sharon Sinclair (Ambassador Lead). 

They go out into the community and engage directly with people where they are at using the community outreach vehicle to provide support such as tents, clothes, medical aid, food, sleeping bags and phones.

After initial support is provided, RESET then verifies the rough sleeper and the team provide a rapid response service. For those who engage with the service, a full package of support is considered, including:  

  • Housing support 
  • Drug and alcohol recovery support and treatment including medical prescribing  
  • Development of new skills and/or coping strategies to improve resilience and support people to address their substance use with confidence. 
  • Domestic abuse support  
  • Mental health support  
  • Connecting people to activities, groups and services in the community 

The service, although a few months old, has engaged with over 56 individuals. At first hard to reach, they are now all engaged, being offered support and getting the help they need with some journeys being longer than others. 

Of the 56 individuals, 4 are currently engaged with the ITS Ambassador programme where they are being provided with Level 1 and Level 2 Information, Advice and Guidance Training. This training provides a route for people with lived experience to give something back, supporting the service, individuals rough sleeping and their local community.  

Here is some feedback from some ITS Team members currently working in Shropshire on their experience within the service.  

There is a total of 147 individuals in Shropshire who could benefit from engagement. The ITS Team will continue to work alongside partners in Shropshire to provide help and support to rough sleepers and those at risk of rough sleeping.