Bristol homeless charity St Mungo's given £229k boost

A public hotline for reporting rough sleepers is to be introduced in Bristol by a charity.

St Mungo's, which has been operating in the city for two years, has received a £229,000 grant from the government.

From March, members of the public will be invited to tell the service about people sleeping rough and the outreach team will follow up the referrals.

The government is spending £8m on 41 national projects as part of the No Second Night Out initiative.

'Tough job'

St Mungo's will also use the money to provide additional resources at its Compass Centre base in Stokes Croft and expend its outreach service for people new to the streets.

Elizabeth Harper, St Mungo's regional director, said the No Second Night Out initiative was "wholeheartedly welcome".

"This is extremely good news for the rough sleepers we help off the streets, as well as our outreach staff who do an incredibly tough job night after night," she said.

The Compass Centre already provides a health service, mental health support, IT training and a cafe run by homeless people.

No Second Night Out, which aims to get help quickly to anyone who ends up on the streets, has been piloted in London for the past six months.