Homeless charity awarded nearly £20k to help women ex-offenders

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales has awarded a grant of £19,400, over two years, to homelessness charity Plymouth Access to Housing (PATH). The funding will be used to develop its existing information and support service to help female ex-offenders who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

PATH works across Plymouth and South Devon supporting those who are vulnerable to homelessness secure appropriate accommodation and access a range of services allowing beneficiaries to get the support they need to become reintegrated into society. The charity describe their work with women ex-offenders as "still relatively new but a critical service with many experiencing complex needs".

Mike Taylor, director at PATH, said, “This funding will help us to better support female ex-offenders, many of whom do not receive sufficient community support within the criminal justice system. We will be able to provide housing information and link them to other relevant services that will enable them to stabilise and take control of their lives”.

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales invested £18.4 million in 826 small and medium charities working to tackle disadvantage last year. Trevor Smale, grant manager for Devon, Cornwall and Somerset at the Foundation, said, “PATH is working with people who have very specific and complex needs and it is an area where support for this group is limited. The Foundation awarded £1.4 million to charities in the South West last year with 75% of our funding supporting much needed core costs allowing charities to focus on serving those most in need.”

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales supports charities that help disadvantaged people to play a fuller role in the community. Local or regional charities with an income up to £1 million and national charities with an income up to £5 million can find out more about the funding criteria and grant programmes at www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk.