Background

2. Background Cyrenians • Specialist homelessness provider with over 10 years experience of delivering ESF projects. • Convergence– Cyrenians Supported Employment and Training (CSET) project comprises a network of projects to: • Overcome barriers. • Provide training. • Help to find employment and sustain it. • Target group – homeless, isolated, disengaged from mainstream services.

3. Background Celfi Retail Training Centre www.cetwales.co.uk Cyrenians Community Centre Cyrenians Employment Support Agency Dragon Arts and Learning Centre Res’a’Rec Re-use and Recycling Centre

4. Background • Outcomes from December 2010 to March 2012 • Participants 4773 • Qualifications 525 • Employment 701 • The mix of life skills, with work experience then a dedicated employment agency is the whole person package that makes the Cyrenians model a success, and with a bit more time could prove to be a good practice model across Wales and the UK’ (Wavehill Ltd. 2011).

5. Context

6. Less developed regions Transition regions More developed regions Context (Extract below from European Union Cohesion Policy) • 3 categories • of regions

7. Context Europe 2020 Strategy Smart: • 75% of EU population (20-64) in employment. • 3% of EU GDP invested in R&D / innovation. Sustainable: • ‘20/20/20’ climate/energy targets to be met. Inclusive: • Young people exiting school early to be less than 10%; and 40% of 30-34 year olds to have a tertiary degree. • 20 million less people to be at risk of poverty.

8. Context • Homelessness and structural funds • Recognition across EU that tackling entrenched poverty is a key challenge for 2014-20 (hence the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion under Europe 2020). • Homelessness now features more prominently in EU discussions and papers, and there is an intention that tackling homelessness should cut across major EU funding programmes such as ERDF and ESF. • In the current programming period, the ESF is used in many Member States to fund homelessness initiatives. These initiatives tend to focus on the social inclusion of homeless people with a view to their sustainable integration in the labour market. There is still scope to enhance and expand the role of the ESF in fighting homelessness and to make a stronger contribution to ending homelessness (Feantsa).

9. Proposal Places of Change Cymru • To provide a co-ordinated network of accommodation, training and enterprise hubs in areas of acute need across West Wales and the Valleys. • To use the successful Places of Change model in England as a reference, but tailoring the project to Welsh requirements. • To fund capital costs through ERDF and revenue through ESF. • To incorporate a transnational partnership that can draw on best practice from Europe for the benefit of homeless and marginalised people in Wales.

10. Activities • Accommodation / residential placements. • Vocational training. • Rural skills. • Employment support; help with finding and maintaining work, social enterprise, microbusinesses etc. • Community engagement. • Land share schemes, allotments, food co-operatives, time banking. • Incorporating WG initiatives – e.g. empty homes. • Transnational exchange between EU partners. • Lifelong learning participation (Grundtvig, Leonardo, Transversal) • ESOL training.

11. Core principles • To focus on reaching the hardest to reach. • To work towards community engagement, and being responsive to local need – and to assist regeneration. • To promote green initiatives. • To involve the local community in the development of the project. • To be innovative. • To aim to create flexible models of excellence, that can adapt to changing circumstance. • To leave a legacy, and to continue developing beyond 2020.

12. Development • A consortium planning group comprising Cadwyn Housing Association, Caer Las, Cyrenians, Cymorth and Shelter Cymru. • Reporting regularly to Rough Sleepers Cymru, and using network to inform project development. • Community-led approach, responsive to local need. • Research best-practice delivery (e.g. PoC examples). • Scoping exercise (i.e. potential areas/sites, consultation etc.). • Consultation with national bodies – e.g. WCVA, WLGA. • Consultation with local representatives. • Consultation with WEFO. • Seek political support. • Develop robust fully-costed Business Plan. • Develop trans-national partnerships.

13. Transnational Partnerships • Wales can learn from exemplar projects in EU. Greater focus on transnationality in 2014-20 programme. • Potential partners include: • Casa Ioana (Romania) www.casaioana.org • San Patrignano (Italy) www.sanpatrignano.org • Basta (Sweden) www.basta.se • Structured partnerships also facilitate involvement in the Lifelong Learning programme (e.g. Grundtvig, Leonardo).

14. Fit with WEFO requirements for 2014-20 • A belief that wider ‘strategic’ approach has been beneficial. • Therefore partnership working will be further encouraged. • Want to ‘hit the ground running’ and avoid any pause between programmes (delays were problematic between the end of Objective One and the start of Convergence). • Directly contributes to the aims of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion. • Greater emphasis on trans-national working.

15. Considerations • Matched funding requirement (likely requirement will be around 40-45%). • Local opposition / delays in planning process etc. • Delays in funding (up to 2 years at beginning of Convergence programme). • Excessively complicated bureaucracy. • Procurement. • Geographical coordination. • Other?