“Here at Caritas Anchor House we welcome the Government’s Rough Sleeper Strategy, and are glad that their promise to end rough sleeping by 2027 is being backed by funding and planning.

“The number of people sleeping rough has been growing consistently over the last decade. 4,751 people are estimated to sleep rough on any one night in England, more than double the figure in 2010. This crisis deserves to be high on the priority list, and we hope to work with the Government through this strategy to help as many homeless people as we can.”

-Mary Whitfield, Director of Frontline Services at Caritas Anchor House

This Rough Sleeping Strategy will be supported with £100 million of funding, and has been developed by the government in partnership with Rough Sleeping Advisory panel, a group consisting of ambassadors from the homelessness and housing sectors.

Vital steps already made have seen the government include £30million of new funding dedicated to areas with high concentrations of people rough sleeping, and the launch of Housing First Pilots.  Housing First is an approach which uses housing as a platform to enable individuals with multiple and complex needs to begin recovery and move away from homelessness. The strategy released on Monday 13th August adopts a three pillared approach;

Prevention
“Understanding the issues that lead to rough sleeping and providing timely support for those at risk”
This is focused around understanding the causes of rough sleeping, and getting in touch with grass roots organisations to build a better approach to addressing the issues at their origin. Furthermore, more pilots will be introduced for people leaving prison, and for people with complex needs leaving care.

Intervention
“Helping those already sleeping rough with swift support tailored to their individual circumstances”
For this the work of the Rough Sleeping Initiative will be injected with a £17 million pound investment for its ‘Somewhere to Stay Safe’ pilot. This focuses on rapid assessment and signposting for people rough sleeping. Front line staff will be trained, new specialists will be brought in, and NHS staff will be asked to pitch in also. There will also be more development of StreetLink, which will hopefully benefit from an improved app.

Recovery
“Supporting people in finding a new home and rebuilding their lives”
This element includes £50 million towards homes outside of London, £19million for specialist centres for people previously rough sleeping, and a further £135million from ‘dormant assets’ will go towards funding homes for those who currently or are at risk of rough sleeping.
Local funding will also go towards organisations supporting vulnerable people, who are “offering advice, building stronger relationships with local landlords and making efficient use of local housing supply”.

To read more on the strategy see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rough-sleeping-strategy-prevention-intervention-recovery