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Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority secures £90,000 to help veterans at risk of homelessness

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority secures £90,000 to help veterans at risk of homelessness

Military veterans at risk of homelessness in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are set to benefit from funding of £90,000 which has been given only to Combined Authorities in England.

The funding for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority by central Government will be used to support veterans across the whole area.

The news was welcomed by Mayor James Palmer as another example of the Combined Authority’s ability to secure new sources of funding from Government.

The money can be put to use quickly via Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council working closely with all District Councils, through their Armed Forces Covenant Development Officer, who coordinates activities to support veterans across all constituent councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The officer is funded via the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

Some of the money received has already been earmarked to meet an identified need to support veterans in Peterborough, attending the Light Project’s Garden House scheme, which supports homeless people in the area.

The funding will also be used to better identify how many veterans are at risk of homelessness across Cambridgeshire. A part-time outreach officer who would undertake some of this work could also be funded or part-funded with the money.

A range of other schemes and initiatives ongoing could also be supported with some of the funding.

Mayor James Palmer said:

“It is very welcome that the Combined Authority was able to secure this money to help those who have risked their lives to serve our country. Homelessness or risk of homelessness among our veterans is something we must all work together to avoid, and it is important that we are able, through our partners, to put this money to use straight away.”

“This funding is yet another example of how devolution and the creation of the Combined Authority has resulted in securing funding that would otherwise have not been available.”