What the PM’s pledge means for rough sleeping
Today, the Prime Minister announced a nationwide drive to ensure everyone sleeping rough is offered support to move off the streets by Christmas.
Here in Newham, where one in eighteen people are experiencing homelessness, the highest rate in England, this support has never been more in demand. We welcome the Prime Minister’s decisive and bold action on ending rough sleeping.
The commitment is backed by an additional £442 million investment to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness across England.
This initiative will be rolled out this winter, providing emergency accommodation alongside practical support to help people access housing, healthcare and other essential services. The programme is full funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
At Your Place we support 158 people at any one time with safe, supportive accommodation and tailored one-to-one support. We help residents access specialist services including healthcare, immigration advice, social care and women’s support organisations, to address the underlying causes of homelessness and help people rebuild their lives.
We see first hand the devastating impact that sleeping rough can have. Many residents arrive with complex support needs and experiences of trauma, often after years on the streets or in insecure housing.
To support people who have been sleeping rough for many years or are stuck in a cycle of homelessness, we developed The Harbour Project, London’s first congregate Housing First scheme. The project helps those who have struggled to live independently due to the impacts of rough sleeping and trauma, by providing long-term homes and bespoke, community based support.
Amanda Dubarry, our Chief Executive said:
“We’re incredibly encouraged by the Prime Minister’s latest commitment to ending rough sleeping. As a charity based in Newham, we see first-hand the scale of demand for homelessness services and the complex challenges many people face when trying to rebuild their lives.
We saw the success of the ‘everyone in’ scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic, with many people being referred to Your Place for long-term support. We look forward to being a part of this solution and helping more people to recover, rebuild and regain independence.
This investment is an important step forward, but ending rough sleeping requires more than emergency accommodation. We urge the government to commit to Housing First services, like our Harbour Project, that provides people with a stable, long-term home and person-centred, community support to recover from years of homelessness and instability.”
