Homeless Link, the national organisation for frontline agencies working to end homelessness, is relaunching Homeless Pages.
This is the leading source of publications and research on homelessness in the UK. First established in 1998, it now has many new features and easy access to all the latest information about homelessness.
Homeless Pages helps people working to tackle homelessness understand the issues and offer the best services to homeless people. It ensures they have easy access to the latest published information and research on a whole range of issues relevant to homelessness.
The website also helps organisations to share their publications and research, so as to have impact on the widest possible audience.
Homeless Pages is supported by the Communities and Local Government and CRASH - the construction industry's charity to help homeless people.
Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, said:
"It is important that everyone involved in the ambition to end homelessness has access to key information.
"We can only make the progress we need if we have an up to date knowledge centre where people can test past assumptions against real evidence.
"Homeless Pages holds the evidence, good practice and research to tackle homelessness.
"We urge everyone with an interest in influencing policy or developing good practice to visit our new site, to give feedback and suggestions on new material to add."
Homeless Pages can be accessed via this link.
John Varley, Group Chief Executive of Barclays and Chair of Business in the Community's Business Action on Homelessness campaign, brought together senior business leaders, Government officials and voluntary sector professionals to challenge the stereotypes around homelessness and discuss how collaboratively they might contribute to a step change in the way that homeless services are delivered.
As well as discussing how companies could provide practical support, through work placements and job opportunities, delegates focussed on how business expertise might be targeted at a more strategic level to help homeless agencies get more people into employment.
Mr Varley was joined at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea by senior executives from companies including BaxterStorey, Carillion and Kantar Operations, together with leading public sector representatives from the Homes and Communities Agency, Communities and Local Government, the Royal Parks, and voluntary sector bodies Homeless Link, London Employer Accord and the Eden Project.
The meeting included a preview visit to the 'Places of Change Garden', which is being developed on-site of the May 2010 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, to meet some of the people and organisations involved in its creation.
The 590 sq metre garden, the largest Show Garden ever at the event, is an ambitious collaboration between national housing and regeneration agency the Homes and Communities Agency, Communities and Local Government, the Eden Project, London Employer Accord and membership body for the homeless sector, Homeless Link. Business Action on Homelessness is also supporting the Garden.
The garden has been created by 500 homeless service users from 43 homeless agencies and 50 offenders from 8 prisons across the country. They have been involved at every stage of its development, from designing the individual zones in the garden, planting and landscaping, though to on-site development and hospitality during Show Week.
The garden has provided the opportunity for participants to gain new skills around planting, gardening, design, construction and carpentry, providing the means for many of them to move on to further training and qualifications, accredited by the National Open College Network.
Through the experience of taking part in this project participants will find their individual 'place of change', gaining new skills, confidence and increased job prospects that will enable them to turn their lives around long-term. This is central to the ethos of the Homes and Communities Agency's Places of Change hostels capital improvement funding programme, from which the garden takes its name.
Business Action on Homelessness is a business-led campaign that supports homeless people to gain and sustain employment through training, work placements and job coaching. It believes that work is the best route out of homelessness for the majority of people and actively campaigns for the removal of barriers to work. The campaign is funded by business and Communities and Local Government.
For more information on the Places of Change garden click here.
Update
Homelessness agencies, their service users and prisoners around the country had cause to celebrate with the news that the Places of Change Show Garden won a silver medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.