Greater Manchester’s bold efforts to tackle rough sleeping crisis boosted by major charity concert

• Raise the Roof raises tens of thousands for new Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity
• Charity funds to bolster city-region’s A Bed Every Night rough sleeping strategy
• Almost 1,600 previous rough sleepers supported into accommodation since November
• Housing First scheme officially launched earlier this week

GREATER Manchester’s unique and ambitious approach to tackling rough sleeping will receive a boost on Friday 24 May as the cream of the city-region’s musical talent comes together to perform a major charity fundraiser for the brand new Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.

Raise the Roof, hosted at renowned music venue O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester, has already raised tens of thousands of pounds through a text ballot for tickets, funds which will go straight to projects dedicated to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in all 10 boroughs, including the ambitious A Bed Every Night scheme.

The latest figures show that 1598 individuals have now been supported by A Bed Every Night since November, with 316 people accommodated on the night of Monday 20 May. 548 people have also been positively supported in to more suitable housing solution, from A Bed Every Night”. 

The Charity, launched at the start of May, already has nearly £650,000 donated by businesses and individuals over the past two years since the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, made tackling homelessness and rough sleeping his number one policy priority.

This evening local artists The Courteeners, Blossoms, Bugzy Malone, Dr John Cooper Clarke and Lisa Stansfield will appear on the same unique bill as performers and fans come together to enjoy the music and make a real difference.

Andy said: “Raise the Roof is going to be a memorable, one-of-a-kind event, a symbol of Greater Manchester coming together for the greater good. I want to thank everyone who entered the ticket ballot, all the fantastic artists who are performing and SJM concerts for helping us to stage tonight’s event.

“It’s great to see the music scene in Greater Manchester, so important and influential and at the core of what it means to be Mancunian, lending its support to tackle the humanitarian crisis that is rough sleeping on our streets.

“Here in Greater Manchester we have seen a fall in the numbers of people sleeping outdoors and A Bed Every Night has played a big role in that.  Tonight’s event represents another step forward as we work towards ending rough sleeping here in Greater Manchester. 

“But there is so much more still to do, which is why I’m delighted to have been able to extend A Bed Every Night by 12 months until May 2020. We still need the support of the public and any money you feel you can contribute would be greatly appreciated – go to www.gmmayorscharity.co.uk to find out more and donate. And to the lucky people who won tickets for Raise the Roof, have fun tonight. I’ll see you there.”

A host of celebrity guests from sport, TV and comedy will also be attending the concert, including Coronation Street stars Sair Khan, Victora Ekanoye and Mikey North.  The night will also be supported by representatives of Vincent Kompany’s ‘Tackle 4 Mcr’, with a video message from the departing Manchester City Captain to be shown during the concert. 

Around 3,200 people will be in attendance, from the tens of thousands who applied for tickets in the text ballot that closed just weeks ago.

A Bed Every Night launched at the start of November as a pledge to deliver a bed plus targeted support for every person sleeping rough in Greater Manchester every night over the forthcoming winter. Night shelters have been open in every one of the city-region’s ten boroughs ever since, offering a comfortable bed plus advice and support to every person accommodated.

Individuals continue to move out of A Bed Every Night accommodation and into more permanent solutions, similar to the places offered by the existing Social Impact Bond (SIB), a roughly £2 million programme that has already assisted 222 of the city-region’s previously most entrenched rough sleepers.

Earlier in the year, Great Places Housing Group was announced as leading a Housing First consortium assisting up to 400 people into their own homes with support over the next three years, backed by £7.6 million of Government funding.  The scheme officially launched earlier this week and has already supported people in to Housing First accommodation.  Find out more about Housing First in Greater Manchester here: https://www.greatplaces.org.uk/about-us/greater-manchester-housing-first

The Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is an independent charity (charity no. 180418) with Andy Burnham as Patron. The initial work of the Charity will focus on assisting front line projects to deliver innovative initiatives to tackle homelessness and support the goal to end rough sleeping in Greater Manchester.

The Trustees comprise of a mix of public and private sector representatives with a blend of skills, who represent the community which the Charity hopes to serve.

The Mayor’s Homelessness Fund, set up the first day the mayor took office in May 2017, had all funds raised transferred to the Charity on 7 May 2019.

Article Published: 24/05/2019 09:21 AM