A MAJOR new project is calling for volunteers to help tackle the scourge of homelessness on the streets of Brighton and Hove.

Teams will go out late at night and in the early hours of the morning to engage with rough sleepers and to survey their needs, as part of a Europe-wide initiative to end rough sleeping by 2020.

The scheme, called Galvanise Brighton and Hove, brings together the council and charities including St Mungo’s and the city’s two YMCA branches.

It comes after a young homeless man died underneath the arches of the Madeira Terraces near Brighton Marina overnight on Saturday.

Chas Walker, chief executive of YMC Downslink, said: “This problem is such that traditional ways aren’t going to solve the problem.

“It’s seen as a local government responsibility to find all the solutions, but we’re saying we want to involve the community to try to find the solutions.

“In Brighton and Hove our community doesn’t want to see people sleeping rough, and people feel very uncomfortable seeing people on the streets.

“But finding the solution is difficult - you can feel uncomfortable starting a conversation, and people don’t know whether it’s right to give money.

“So we’re starting with Connections Week, to engage them and understand them better, and using volunteers working in the community.”

The outreach sessions will take place between 4am and 9am, and between 9pm and 2am, over four days from November 28 to December 1.

Galvanise is also asking for volunteers to take on team leader and data analysis roles.

Its short term goals are to make local support services more accessible, and in the longer term to provide sustainable permanent accommodation.

A recent report from the council identified early deaths and pressure on the emergency services as the costs of not ending rough sleeping, along with damage to the city’s reputation as a caring city.

There are approximately 150 people sleeping rough on the streets of each night, around 50 per cent of whom are local.

Galvanise Brighton and Hove is part of the European Campaign to End Street Homelessness, currently operating in 10 European cities.

The project has seen 1,000 volunteers survey rough sleepers in cities across Europe, from Valencia to London.

The campaign is supported by YMCA DownsLink Group, Brighton YMCA, St. Mungo’s, The Passage, Fulfilling Lives, Brighton and Hove City Council and a number of organisations and businesses including the i360.

For information visit galvanisebh.org/get-involved