Despite recent figures showing a drop in the number of rough sleepers in Fareham, from 42 to 23 since May 2016, and a drop in homelessness, there are still too many people without a roof over their head. Many people in Fareham have contacted me, concerned about seeing more people rough sleeping in the area, near the shopping centre and multi-story carpark. It is simply unacceptable that in Fareham there are people living on the streets – this is why I’m supporting the Homelessness Reduction Bill.
Intervention and support shouldn’t only be delivered when people are at crisis point, we need to ensure that people at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping are identified and receive proper support to help get them back on their feet.
The Bill will significantly reform England’s homelessness legislation, making sure more people get the help they need to prevent them from becoming homelessness in the first place. The Bill would place on councils a legal duty to support people at risk of homelessness much earlier on, 56 days before they are threatened with homelessness instead of 28 days and ensures that those who find themselves homeless are given support for a further period of 56 days, to help to secure accommodation. The new legislation will also ensure that other local services refer those either homeless or at risk of being homeless to local authority housing teams.
The Government has done fantastic work in getting the number of homeless people, investing £500 million since 2010 into homelessness prevention schemes which have helped to prevent or relieve over one million cases of homelessness. But recent statistics show that rough sleeping is on the rise across much of the country. On any one night 3,569 people are sleeping rough in England according to statistics from the Department of Communities and Local Government, up 30% compared to the number recorded in 2014 and over double the number recorded in 2010.
Rough sleepers are more likely to require specialist support with around 78% having one or more support needs, including complex mental and physical health issues and substance addictions. According to research by Crisis, a homeless charity, 31% of rough sleepers have drug addictions, 32% have been in prison at some point, 41% of rough sleepers have alcohol problems and 45% have mental health issues. Without properly addressing the reasons why people end up rough sleeping, or homeless, the problem is only going to get worse.
There have been some promising signs from the Government – on 17th October the Government announced a £40 million homelessness prevention programme, an innovative approach to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping that seeks to tackle the reasons why people end up in rough sleeping cycles, including:
- A new £10 million rough sleeping prevention fund will help individuals who might be struggling to get by and at risk rough sleeping, and rapid and targeted interventions for new rough sleepers, such as helping them to access employment, education opportunities and support services, will ensure they don’t end up back on the streets.
- £20 million will be dedicated for local authorities to trial new initiatives, responding to the specific needs in their communities and focusing on prevention at an earlier stage.
- A £10 million Social Impact Bond programme has also been launched to help long-term rough sleepers, who may be bouncing chaotically through the housing system, to address underlying issues such as poor mental health or substance abuse to help stop them from living on, or returning to, the streets.
Together, the Homelessness Reduction Bill and homelessness prevention programme represent a significant gain in our efforts to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. It is also about rethinking our approach, not waiting to crisis point to give support, to assist people who become homeless to help get their life back together, and to look at the reasons why people end up at risk of homelessness or living on the streets to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.
Published in The Portsmouth News