We have made available up to £500k for smaller frontline organisations. Funding of up to £100k per organisation will be available which can be spent over a maximum of a three-year period. This funding is available for organisations with an annual turnover of less than £2 million per year.
St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity is committed to ensuring everyone has a safe place to call home and the support they need.
This new funding programme has been designed in direct response to evidence and insights from organisations and frontline workers, who continually report that insufficient housing options for people experiencing homelessness is one of the biggest challenges for frontline workers and the people they support.
The Access to Accommodation Funding Programme
Over the past eight years, we have undertaken an annual Frontline Worker Survey to identify and address gaps in support for people experiencing homelessness and the frontline workers that provide support. We have consistently heard that there is a need to improve access to accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
In our 2024 Survey, 92% of frontline workers said that they found it difficult or very difficult to obtain ‘suitable’ housing for the people they are supporting. Frontline workers also told us that helping people to access accommodation is getting harder with 58% of workers reporting their ability to help people access appropriate accommodation had decreased (up from 42% in 2022).
In response to our call for insights on this issue, three quarters of respondents mentioned the need for more accommodation and the shortage of affordable housing was repeatedly cited. Strong themes were also identified around community, social integration and connection as foundations that are often missing for those experiencing homelessness.
In response to the insights and feedback shared, our core focus will be smaller, locally embedded charities who work with people facing homelessness and have been struggling to access accommodation for those they are working with and so have been seeking to develop new options. The purpose of this new fund is to test projects and approaches that may have the opportunity for wider scale and impact whilst supporting organisations to create longer term options in the current housing crisis.
Alongside funding, we will convene peer networks to promote good practice and effective housing solutions that are rooted within communities across the sector as part of our wider influencing work. We will also ensure learning and evaluation is embedded within this programme, through an external learning partner, who will work with grant partners to capture the learning and evaluation from this programme. We are committed to reflecting on the learning that emerges to develop, share learning and shape future funding priorities.
We have made available up to £500k for smaller frontline organisations to fund projects that meet the aims outlined above. This funding is available for organisations with an annual turnover of less than £2 million per year.
Applications have now closed. We’re currently in the process of shortlisting, and will provide an update soon.
