What we do

 Overview

The £20m Homelessness Transition Fund was launched with the ambition to help prevent and tackle rough sleeping in England.

The fund is for non-profit organisations and provided by the Department of Communities and Local Government. It is administered by Homeless Link. The objectives of the fund are to:

• help deliver an end to rough sleeping by rolling out the No-Second Night Out principles and other innovations
• support a smooth transition for existing services to sustainable funding arrangments
• support strategically critical homelessness services for single homeless people, in particular those serving rough sleepers and where there is evidence of rising rough sleeping

The fund was launched in July 2011 and will run until March 2014, with grants given out in consecutive funding rounds.

Why the fund was set up

Since the 1990s, Government, councils and homelessness charities have made real progress in reducing homelessness and tackling rough sleeping. 

Homelessness services have become better at preventing people from losing their homes and, if they do end up on the streets, supporting them into stable accommodation, employment and a better future.

A number of challenges have put this progress at risk. Not only have the number of people seeking help with housing increased as a result of the recession, but many homelessness services have also seen their funding reduced.

The Homelessness Transition Fund has been set up as part of the national rough sleeping strategy, 'Vision to end rough sleeping: No Second Night Out nationwide', to help ensure that progress towards ending homelessness is not lost, to help protect critical services and fund new approaches such as No Second Night Out.