Every month since his election as mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017, Andy Burnham has been transferring £1,375a month – 15% of his salary – towards his manifesto pledge of eradicating rough sleeping in the region.

The latest government statistics suggest Burnham is making progress, with Greater Manchester recording an 10% decrease in street sleepers between 2017 and 2018, the first significant reduction since 2010. The annual homeless count on one night in November found 241 people on the street, down from 268 the previous year.

Numbers of those sleeping rough have stabilised or declined in eight out of 10 Greater Manchester boroughs. There has been particular success in Wigan, where the number has almost halved from 30 to 17, year on year.

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One of those was Pete Smith, 34, who moved into his own home last summer after six months living in a tent with his dog. A keen angler, he often pitched up by fishing ponds at nightfall, stashing his tent in a bush most days. Amphetamines, crack cocaine and cannabis passed the time, along with alcohol. If there was food, his dog ate first: Smith, a pseudonym, was down to eight stone (51kg) by the time he accepted accommodation last year from the Brick, a homeless charity in Wigan.

He is one of 246 entrenched rough sleepers helped into homes over the last 12 months under a payment-by-results pilot in Greater Manchester. It is funded via a “social impact bond” (SIB), whereby social investors provide upfront investment and receive a return dependent on the results achieved.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The rehousing scheme has helped 246 rough sleepers find accommodation in the last year. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

So far just two participants in the SIB are back on the street, according to Sarah Cooke, who runs the project. Many others have had wobbles, Smith included, but the SIB is designed to give people “not just a second chance”, but “third, fourth, fifth chances” when they struggle in their new homes. They do not have to overcome substance use before they are given a roof over their head. First they get the keys, then they are given intensive support to sustain a tenancy and tackle their problems, plus help to access education and training.

Smith, who grew up in care, had been homeless on and off since 2007, when his relationship broke down. By the time he engaged with the SIB last summer he had been in prison three times. Jail was sometimes a welcome respite from life on the streets, he said. “Three square meals a day, free gym access … it was more of a detox for me than anything else.”

Accepting help from the Brick was daunting. “I struggled at first because I was that used to being on my own. It was just me and the dog. It was frightening, having responsibilities.” But he wanted to sort himself out, primarily because of his 14-year-old daughter. “She’s of an age now where anything I do directly affects her … It weren’t great for her, with her friends. That’s why I had to make some drastic changes in my life. It can’t be nice going to school and people asking: is that your dad there, sleeping in that field?”

First he moved into supported accommodation with five other men in the same boat. It took some adjustment. “When I first moved in, I slept on the floor for about the first week. Stupid as it sounds, the bed was too soft,” Smith said. Part of his SIB deal was to go to the Brick’s Wigan hub five days a week, where he learned skills including joinery and did courses in first aid and health and safety.

In November he was deemed ready to have his own place: a social home in Leigh. He was given basic furniture and a “personalisation budget” to make it his own, plus vouchers for the supermarket.

There are ups and downs: recently Smith stopped engaging with his care workers, who have been working hard to get him back on track. But he said he was determined to stay off the streets, motivated by a speech his daughter gave at a recent family funeral. “She stood up and said: ‘I hope you’re all as proud of my dad as I am.’ It was the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life. If that won’t motivate you, nothing will.”

• This article was amended on 5 February 2019 to make it clear that the sum of £1,375 donated by Burnham is monthly.