Homelessness The Mayor

Mayor pays tribute to Vincent Kompany ahead of testimonial match


Mayor Andy Burnham has paid tribute to Vincent Kompany ahead of tonight’s [Wed 11 Sept 2019] testimonial match for his “courage, passion and determination” to tackling homelessness in Greater Manchester.

Kicking off at 7.45pm, Man City Legends v All Star Premier League XI at the Etihad Stadium, the former Blues captain has pledged to donate the proceeds of the match to the Mayor’s ground breaking A Bed Every Night scheme.

Vincent Kompany has already raised over £300,000 for A Bed Every Night through Tackle4MCR which he set up to raise vital funds to support rough sleepers.

Last week [Fri 6 Sept 2019], the Mayor announced Phase 2 of the scheme with £6m of funding and an extra 100 beds, taking it to 400 beds in total. Anyone whose last address was in Greater Manchester and sleeping rough can access the scheme which is funded until June 2020. So far, 2003 people have been supported with 688 people now in long-term accommodation.

As well as increasing the number of places, Phase 2 seeks to improve the quality of support. Provision will be more varied ensuring that people’s specific needs can be met, including women-only spaces, provision for couples and, through the greater involvement of NHS colleagues, those with complex needs such as addictions and mental health. There will also be more options for people with dogs.

As well as more beds, Phase 2 involves more professional involvement, more secure funding and stronger partnerships between different funding agencies and organisations. These include: the GMCA, the 10 Councils, Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, Greater Manchester Police, Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, Raise the Roof, Tackle4MCR and the Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network.

A Bed Every Night Phase 2 will go live 1st October 2019.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

“I can’t praise Vincent Kompany enough for his legendary sporting prowess on the pitch and for his heartfelt support to end the humanitarian crisis of rough sleeping in Greater Manchester.

“I’ve had the privilege to work with him over the last year and I’ve seen first-hand how committed he is. I will never forget meeting up with Vincent at Supporting People In Need, a charity in Manchester that is doing outstanding work supporting homeless people. Just days after he scored that goal against Leicester and just before he led City to their first back-to-back Premier League title, he gave up his time to visit the charity in Ardwick.

“As well as raising awareness of the issues, Vincent’s already raised over £300,000 for A Bed Every Night. And yet he’s going above and beyond this by donating the proceeds of his testimonial to support even more people.

“Vincent knows, like we do, that in 2019, nobody should have to spend a night on the streets. We do things differently in this city. We don’t just walk on by and, while he may be from Brussels, Vincent is as Mancunian as they come and understands this better than most.

“I pay tribute to Vincent for his courage, passion and determination to help those who need it the most and I wish him all the best ahead of tonight’s match.”

 


Article Published: 11/09/2019 09:58 AM