PEOPLE across South Somerset are being urged to help homeless people have ‘no second night out’ as part of a new campaign.

No Second Night Out (NSNO) is a government scheme to try and help people get off the streets and following its initial success in London, has been rolled out to a number of district councils across the country, including South Somerset.

Barbie Markey, the acting housing and welfare manager at South Somerset District Council (SSDC), said: “We have a number of facilities to help homeless people in South Somerset.

“SSDC funds the 30-bed Pathways hostel in Yeovil, and also an additional four emergency beds under the No Second Night Out (NSNO) government scheme for people who are street homeless.

“The hostel and the emergency beds are for people with a local connection to South Somerset, although we can use the NSNO beds for people without a local connection for a short period of time, we then offer to fund to reconnect them with the area that they came from.”

No Second Night Out (NSNO) was launched in April 2011 as a pilot project aimed at ensuring rough sleepers in central London for the first time don’t spend a second night on the streets.

Mrs Markey added: “Pathways also hosts our Severe Weather Provision (SWEP) beds, they can accommodate a further six people on emergency beds when the temperature drops below zero and local churches are also looking to assist with that provision.

“We are linked in with local businesses and schools and have just had delivery of 130 shoebox parcels which we delivered to the hostel, to people in our temporary accommodation properties and to anyone on the emergency beds or rough sleeping in our district, so that they all had a parcel for Christmas.

“We work with Lord’s Larder in Yeovil to provide food parcels for people in need and we also liaise with King’s Place and Furnicare to assist people in need to access clothes, furniture and household goods.

“We provide deposit bonds to assist local people to secure suitable privately rented accommodation in our district.

“We fund two rough sleeper support workers who are based at Pathways, they offer outreach advice and assistance to any rough sleepers they are made aware of.

“If people find a rough sleeper then they can contact Streetlink online at www.streetlink.org.uk who then alert us, or contact SSDC Housing team at Petters House on 01935 462938.”