A charity which helps homeless people in Derbyshire has launched a desperate last-ditch attempt to keep its vital service after running out of money.

The Derbyshire Outreach Team (DOT), part of charity P3, helped support 122 homeless and vulnerable people in the county in the past year.

It will close on Wednesday, January 31, unless last-minute cash to keep it running can be found.

The service had raised the £60,000 needed to keep going but now that has run out, it has been unable to secure more money and faces closure.

P3's assistant director of operations Rebecca Harrington-Leigh, who works at outreach branches including the Swadlincote centre, in Hill Street, says staff are now extremely worried for the wellbeing of those living on the streets.

The charity has now set up a JustGiving page in a final thrown of the dice to keep the service operating.

Its outreach staff respond to calls about homeless people, check on their welfare and hand out food parcels.

She said: "The increase in the number of people known by DOT to be rough sleeping across the region is alarming and our concern for their continued support has only increased as there have been two deaths in Chesterfield in recent months.

"We are passionate about the service we provide and we are not bothered about who funds it or who delivers it. DOT has assessed and supported 122 people over the past 12 months and this figure doesn’t include all of the people referred to us who have chosen for their own personal reasons not to engage.

"Sadly, there is a definite need for a more robust, joined-up response to the issue of street homelessness across Derbyshire – the people we are working with on a daily basis are acutely vulnerable on the street and need to be appropriately supported."

P3's Derbyshire Outreach Team will close despite helping 122 homeless people this year

Last January, P3 responded to an increase in the number of people sleeping rough across the county by raising funds to establish the Derbyshire Outreach Team. However, when it became obvious that the service was not financially sustainable, P3 said it was left with no choice but to close the doors.

Mark Simms, chief executive of P3, said two full-time outreach workers would lose their current roles but that both are considering other posts within the organisation.

He said: "P3 fund-raised to set DOT up for 12 months last February, we were hoping to secure longer term funding via the Derbyshire districts, however, sadly this has not been the outcome therefore we have no choice but to close the service as financially we can no longer sustain it.

Mark Simms, chief executive of P3, said he is very worried about the impact the closure will have

"It was a very difficult decision and not one that was taken lightly, obviously there is no other provision for this type of service across the county therefore we are very aware that the vulnerable people we are working with will have even less.

"Despite efforts to try and secure a longer term solution sadly one could not be found."

Mr Simms admited he is very worried about the consequences of the closure of the service.

He said: "Two people have died sleeping out on the streets in the north of the county recently, we have worked hard to connect with people rough sleeping and look at accommodation options for them, where we have been able to we have supported people into hostels, supported housing, local authority accommodation and in some cases we have successfully reconnected people back with their families.

"There are a significant number of people on our caseload who are still sleeping rough yet our outreach staff keep contact with them and keep trying to find solutions to their current situation.

"Without DOT there will be nobody doing this, staff respond to referrals county wide, urban areas, rural areas, wherever the need is, yet as of Thursday this will sadly end."

DOT is currently working with 30 rough sleepers and has reunited 22 people with their families and enabled 50 people to move off the streets into stable accommodation, he said.

P3’s Hill Street Navigator base in Swadlincote will remain open and all other Derbyshire-based services will continue to run as usual, including I-Decide Derbyshire scheme which provides accommodation and tenancy-based support for people in Derbyshire experiencing mental health issues.

The Derbyshire Homeless Service, which provides housing and support for adults experiencing homelessness, at Midland Lodge in South Derbyshire and Artemis House in Erewash, and the Derbyshire Recovery and Peer Support Service will also continue.

Fund-raisers are hoping to rack up £60,000 to sustain the service for another year

Recent data released this year by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government reported that homelessness across Derbyshire has risen by 317 per cent in the last seven years and that there are now an estimated 71 homeless people in the region.

Since 2010, the number of rough sleepers nationally has soared by 169 per cent.

P3 have launched an online JustGiving page to raise £60,000 to support DOT’s ongoing work with people who are homeless across Derbyshire.

To donate or to find out more, visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/p3charitydot