According to Shelter[i], one in 206 people are homeless in England and every region has its own issues. Bristol recorded the second highest number of street homeless nationally at the 2020 national Rough Sleeper Street count and was one of two cities outside London with the highest number of people in temporary accommodation. Gloucester and Torbay rank behind Bristol with the highest rates of homeless in the Southwest.
Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC), an award-winning social investment firm, which specialises in investments in charities and social enterprises involved in housing wants to help social sector organisations to address these challenges.
This spring, SASC is launching a new £125m housing fund – Social and Sustainable Housing II (SASH II) – and seeking borrowers in southwest England.
A particular focus are charities in this region involved in homelessness, domestic violence, or work with asylum seekers, young people, and those with addiction or mental health issues.
This will be SASC’s second housing fund which was designed in partnership with charities to meet their specific financial needs.
SASH I raised almost £75m and, so far, has provided £50m of secured loans to 16 UK housing charities. This has turned many of these social sector organisations into property owners for the first time and increased their financial resilience by putting over 625 beds into their ownership.
In March, SASC’s Business Development Manager, Miki Vyse, will spend two week touring the Southwest to find new borrowers.
Miki wants to meet with charities working in housing, housing associations, local MPs, support services organisations and other interested parties to discuss the new fund, how it works, and the benefits it could offer social sector organisations in the region.
Miki Vyse says, “With the launch of SASH II this spring, we want to engage charities and social enterprises in the Southwest who want to increase their provision of safe, quality homes and support for the vulnerable people they serve.
“I am really looking forward to touring the Southwest in early March starting in Bath and Bristol. I will be attending The Bath Sleep-Out organised by Julian House in Alice Park on Friday 4th March and will be raising money for the charity and meeting with the organisers. I will then move on to Plymouth on 15th March, then Cornwall and finally Exeter.”
“Our intention has always been to spread the fund across the UK and support organisations from a range of sectors and a range of localities. The Southwest is expansive region with a diverse population and homelessness is a major issue for cities like Bristol and rural areas including in Cornwall – we are looking forward to engaging with organisations right across the region.”
If you are a charity interested in finding out more about social investment and would like to arrange a meeting Miki Vyse, please contact her on: miki@socialandsustainable.com
For more information about SASC and how to apply for funding visit: www.socialandsustainable.com.
