L – R: Graham England, ARA Chief Executive, Sarah Minns, Second Step New Business Offer, Cllr Paul Smith, Tom Rhodes, Bristol City Council Commissioning Officer, Mark Banfield, Salvation Army Contracts Manager, Helen Denyer, St Mungo’s Regional Head

St Mungo’s is part of a new partnership in Bristol aimed at providing better and more consistent support services for homeless people in the city.

St Mungo’s, Second Step, The Salvation Army, ARA and other agencies who work with people who are homeless came together to mark the start of new way of working called the Bristol Pathway. The Pathway service was launched at Bristol City Council yesterday (14 November).

The £5.3 million per year service commissioned by the council will consist of four pathways to recovery:

Pathway One – Men only accommodation led by The Salvation Army
Pathway Two – mixed accommodation led by Second Step
Pathway Three – Women only accommodation led by St Mungo’s
Pathway Four – Substance misuse Housing led by ARA

Each pathway is provided under a five year contract with an option to extend for a further two years. It avoids a competition between bidding organisations and focuses on working together to get the best possible services. Each lead organisation will manage the budget for their pathway and all partners in the pathway will operate as a single team to provide a consistent service.

Helen Denyer, St Mungo’s Regional Head said: “We are excited to be working together with our partners to provide high quality services to women. It important that we offer our women a service that recognises the unique experience of women who are homeless, and supports them to rebuild their lives, overcoming the challenges they face to be successful in their recovery.”

For more information, see Bristol Council’s News release.