Grant Shapps at Homeless Link's Conference
At Homeless Link's annual conference in Reading, Housing Minister Grant Shapps praised support and innovative approach of homeless charities. He said the way we deal with homelessness is the mark of a civilised society.
He spoke of a future of opportunities which these charities are well placed to grasp, whilst recognising tough times ahead and making no guarantees that cuts would not impact the sector, despite having escaped the first two branches of national cuts.
Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive of Homeless Link said:
"We are delighted that one of the first actions of the new Minister, endorsed by No 10, was to set up a cross-ministerial group to tackle homelessness. As homelessness is such a cross-cutting issue, we applaud this joined up approach.
"I am delighted that the Minister invited me to attend the next meeting of this group to represent the views of the sector."
The Minister also announced a short consultation on the methodology to get a more accurate street count.
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FEANTSA Focuses on Homelessness Among Migrants
The Summer 2010 edition of Homeless in Europe, FEANTSA's tri-annual magazine, is now available online! The theme of this issue is Homelessness and migration in Europe: finding responses.
In line with growing interest in this area and a focus on EU migrants as a risk group by EU institutions, faced with the realisation that homeless service providers may need assistance and clarification to enable them to support the migrants who wish to access their services, and noticing that some service providers have developed solutions to meet this need, FEANTSA has chosen to focus on homelessness among migrants in the Summer 2010 issue of Homeless in Europe and give examples of responses to migrant homelessness found across Europe.
Migration to and within the European Union (EU) can take several forms and the experience of migration can have varying implications for migrants who come to or move around the EU.
Migrants may be asylum seekers, refugees, undocumented migrants and economic or labour migrants. Each of these groups has access to different social rights.
EU Member State policies on homeless migrants' rights can vary. In some States, access to publicly-funded homeless services is denied to non-nationals and to undocumented migrants. Other States provide unconditional support for all. However, scarcity of resources puts strain on service-providers and risks creating a situation where a choice between national and non-national service users is made.
Moreover, many service providers have difficulty supporting service users with different needs from their "traditional" users.
To read the magazine online use this link.
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St Mungo's Opens New Centre in Brent
A landmark new centre in Brent will bring together services for homeless people and the community - with a tree at the heart of the building, highlighting its focus on growth and recovery. The St Mungo's Pound Lane centre is an innovative, light-filled, environmentally friendly building designed from scratch on the site of a previous hostel.
It provides living accommodation for 85 homeless people, comprising 48 hostel beds, 23 semi-independent rooms, and 14 self-contained studio flats for people with different levels of skills and need.
As well as accommodation, the centre will be a place for residents and community groups to take part in social and skills activities, from IT training to cookery, health, exercise and art classes. There will be a focus on offering people access into training and employment.
As a place of change where people can recover from homelessness, the new building has been designed by Churchill Hui Architects, with an emphasis on natural materials.
A 78-bed hostel previously stood on the site, in a building which also served at one time as a base for territorial army soldiers.
St Mungo's undertook the £9.2 million refurbishment in partnership with Brent Council and funding through the Homes and Communities Agency's Places of Change programme.
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Drop in the Number of Recorded Rough Sleepers
The numbers of rough sleepers in England has hit an eleven-year low, according to figures just published.
In total, 70 councils conducted street counts and reported that there were 440 rough sleepers in England on any given night. In comparison - in 2009 when 76 councils conducted street counts, there were 464 rough sleepers recorded.
Housing Minister Grant Shapps has said he is sceptical of the methodology behind the street counts - currently, only councils considered to have a problem with rough sleeping have been required to conduct a count. He will, therefore, shortly consult on plans for a complete overhaul on the means of counting rough sleepers.