TAP for Bristol raises over £30k in year one through contactless donations

Bristolians have donated more than £30,000 to support homeless people through the city's TAP for Bristol contactless donation scheme since it launched just over a year ago. To mark World Homeless Day on 10 October a new TAP point was installed at Bristol Temple Meads station, supported by Network Rail. This is the latest in the series of contactless donation points throughout the city since they were introduced in September last year by the Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Caring in Bristol. Celebrating TAP for Bristol's first birthday, the City Centre BID also made its second £10,000 donation of funds raised. Half of the money will be used to help homeless people in Bristol move into new, permanent homes and half will be used to support and prevent people at risk from losing their home. This follows the £10,000 donated earlier this year to help homeless people isolating in a Bristol hostel during the coronavirus lockdown and to fund homelessness prevention work. Charities and organisations will shortly be invited to apply for funding from the next £10,000 of funds raised. Grant applications will be assessed by Quartet Community Foundation.  A portion of the latest donation will go to homelessness charity St Mungo's, which has been working on the streets of Bristol throughout lockdown supporting more than 460 people who were rough sleeping or in communal shelters into emergency hotel accommodation. St Mungo's will facilitate personal budgets of up to £500 for up to ten people to buy items for their new homes. Caring in Bristol is using its portion of the funding to continue its homeless prevention and early intervention support including training volunteers and funding a money advisor and a housing advisor. The additional investment has helped fund intensive advice case work, via Bristol Housing Advice Service, for people at risk of homelessness, helping them stay in their homes or find good accommodation alternatives. Together the charities have also produced a bespoke 'Housing Support Handbook' in partnership with the ACFA Advice Network, containing vital information on people's rights and sources of advice for tenants and homeowners. Vicky Lee, project lead for TAP for Bristol at Bristol City Centre BID said: "It says so much about our great city and the spirit of Bristol that even through the toughest of years people have donated an incredible £30,000 to help homeless people and those at risk of homelessness. "We would like to thank everyone for such generosity and we are delighted to be able to announce the next funding grants which will help people get set up in new, permanent and safe accommodation as well as support others who may be at risk of losing their home. Bristol's TAP points offer a fast, easy and safe way to donate money in a way that delivers real impact." Steven Dodds, partnerships and grants manager at Caring in Bristol, added:  "Twelve months ago we could not have imagined just how vital the homelessness prevention work funded by TAP for Bristol would become.  Now, the impact of Covid-19 on people's lives and livelihoods has made the need for early intervention to prevent homelessness more important than ever. Demand for good quality housing advice from people worried about losing their homes has rocketed since lockdown and the TAP partnership is working hard to ensure they find it. "Seeking housing advice early really works to prevent homelessness, and over the next 12 months we will be working harder than ever to ensure communities in Bristol have somewhere to turn." The TAP for Bristol allows people to make a £3 contactless donation via their credit or debit card through a network of contactless donation points in windows and on hand-held devices across the city centre. All donations are used to tackle homelessness through both prevention work and emergency support, with the funds divided equally between Caring in Bristol and local frontline services facilitated by the Quartet Community Foundation which manages the grant programme and the donations.

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2HbOl0i