Homelessness is now lower than in 27 of the last thirty years, but there is still more that could be done.
We all sympathise with people who find themselves without a decent place to live, which can happen for all sorts of reasons, and is very distressing. Homelessness is often a far more complex problem than it first appears, and its causes very varied. Drugs and alcohol play a part, but so does mental illness and family breakdown.
We established a Ministerial Working Group in 2010 in order to tackle these problems. Their report, ‘Making Every Contact Count’ provided the blueprint for councils, charities, health services and the police to work together to tackle homelessness. This support also includes repossession, tenancy or debt advice and re-housing services to get people back on track before they lose their home.
Since then, over £500 million has been given to councils and the voluntary sector, providing the funding and tools needed to take action, and a range of initiatives and projects are now being supported.
The £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund, for instance, is helping the national roll-out of the ‘No Second Night Out’ scheme, ensuring that rough sleepers do not spend more than one night on the street.
Alongside this, the ‘StreetLink’ initiative provides a national hotline, website and app to connect rough sleepers to local services. Other examples include the £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fund, which enables local authorities to improve council services for single people facing the prospect of homelessness.
A total of £41.5 million has been made available for the Homelessness Change and Platform for Life programmes. The former of which aims to improve the health outcomes of rough sleepers and support them towards independent living.
The Government is considering a further broad range of options, including legislation, to prevent more people from becoming homeless. The report by the Crisis Expert Panel, to which St Mungo’s contributed, has been welcomed by the Government. It provides a valuable insight into how aspects of the current legislation in England can be updated in light of the models adopted in Scotland and Wales.
By Patrick McLoughlin on August 25, 2016