Shelter responds to ‘new government initiative to reduce rough-sleeping’

Shelter responds to ‘new government initiative to reduce rough-sleeping’

 Greg Beales, Campaigns Director at Shelter, said: “We’re glad the government is now taking seriously the worsening homelessness crisis that is destroying people’s lives on our streets. The money and manpower announced today will make a genuine difference, but this will only work if it is a down-payment with much more to come in the forthcoming national rough-sleeping strategy.

“You cannot break the cycle of homelessness for good without putting in place proper safety nets to keep people off the streets in the first place, and without thinking about where they will actually live in the long-term. Most of these people became homeless simply because they couldn’t afford anywhere to live, a situation made far worse by welfare cuts.

“We very much hope that the government’s new strategy will go far enough in removing the barriers that deny people a safe, secure and affordable home. That means building more social homes to rent, and making sure housing benefit is fit for purpose.”

(The government’s new initiative includes a new ‘Rough Sleeping Team’ made up of rough sleeping and homelessness experts, and an additional £30m fund for local authorities with high levels of rough sleeping. This is part of the government’s manifesto pledge to halve rough-sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027.)

Source of information from Shelter.