An new £5 million 'payment by results' scheme to help London's persistent rough sleepers off the streets and into secure homes was launched by Housing Minister Grant Shapps and London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Building on the progress made by the Mayor's London Delivery Board and the Capital's charities in tackling homelessness over the last three years, this new funding will be used to deal specifically with persistent rough sleepers. Half of these come from overseas and often face multiple challenges - including drug, alcohol or mental health problems.
In a 'payment by results' deal known as a Social Impact Bond, each homelessness charity will receive a share of this funding - but how much will depend on the success of their new projects.
The criteria they will be measured against includes:
Notes
A breakdown of rough sleeping in London by the Combined Homelessness and Information Network, showing that over half of London's homeless are from overseas, can be accessed via this link.
Social Finance completed a feasibility study for the Greater London Authority and the Department for Communities and Local Government to assess the use of a Social Impact Bond to improve outcomes for a cohort of people who are frequent returners to rough sleeping in London.
The study was supported by the Young Foundation, which mapped existing rough sleeping services and identified core principles for a new model of individualised support services.
Londoners Driven Out by Housing Costs
6th March 2012
Almost a third (30%) of Londoners say they expect to be driven out of the Capital by the high cost of housing.
Shelter's figures also show that the two thirds (65%) of Londoners who don't own their own home don't think that they will ever be able to afford to buy in their area of London.
Shelter's findings coincide with the launch of its new campaign Homes for London, which demands that the next Mayor of London gives housing the same leadership and profile given to transport.
From May 2012, the next Mayor will have new powers over the future of London's housing, including control over the housing budget and public land.
Shelter is warning that unless the next Mayor uses the full extent of these new powers to fix London's housing crisis, growing numbers of people will be left with no choice but to abandon the Capital.
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Rough Sleepers Seek Advice Before the Streets
7th March 2012
Homeless Link called on politicians, public and voluntary sector professionals to 'Take a Step' to help end rough sleeping at an event held at the House of Commons.
With Government figures showing a 23% increase in the number of rough sleepers in England, Homeless Link has launched a campaign to encourage NHS, council, criminal justice and other professionals to join charities in the drive to prevent people sleeping out.
New research from the umbrella body for homelessness charities indicates that 57% of new rough sleepers seek advice or use services before ending up on the streets.
Interviews with 197 individuals found that, in the period between leaving their last home and the first instance of rough sleeping, people sought help from a wide variety of sources:
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St Mungo's To Bring Empty Homes Back Into Use
9th March 2012
St Mungo's has been awarded £240,000 as part of the Government's scheme to bring empty homes back into use.
This Empty Homes funding, administered by the Homes and Communities Agency, was announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government as part of a new £100 million capital funding programme.
St Mungo's will be renovating eight properties across London with some of the works to be carried out by the Charity's painting and decorating social enterprise ReVive.
ReVive offers homeless men and women who have completed St Mungo's painting and decorating programme experience working on real jobs in a work based environment.
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New Statistics Show a Worrying Rise in Homeless Acceptances Across England
9th March 2012
Figures released show 12,830 homeless applications were accepted between October and December 2011 - a rise of 18% since the same time the previous year.
In London, the figures show a 36% rise over the same period.
In seven London boroughs - including Ealing, Bexley and Waltham Forest - the number of homeless households more than doubled over twelve months, with the biggest rise in Hounslow at 245%.
The National Statistics on Statutory Homelessness also show 48,920 households were in temporary accommodation at the end of last year - 2% higher than the same date in 2010.
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Centrepoint Launches New Hostel in Sunderland
9th March 2012
Singer Joe McElderry today brushed up on his cookery skills alongside a group of Centrepoint young people as he helped launch a new £1.3 million hostel in Sunderland.
Centrepoint's Dundas Street hostel boasts a fully equipped training kitchen. It is also equipped with a multimedia suite, where some of the most vulnerable young people from across the region can receive help to access education and employment, and learn essential life skills, like cooking on a budget, to prepare them for independent living.
Dundas Street is Centrepoint's first purpose-built service in the north-east and replaces the previous hostel in Mowbray Road, which had become dilapidated and had limited facilities.
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Homelessness Charity Joins Housing Group
16th March 2012
Homelessness charity Threshold has joined Tameside-based New Charter Housing Trust Group after signing a formal partnership agreement.
The Charity, which provides housing support for homeless and vulnerable people across Greater Manchester, signed the official papers at a committee on the 15 March.
The New Charter Group owns and manages around 18,600 homes across Tameside, Oldham and Nottingham.
The new working relationship will strengthen the housing related support network for those most in need across communities by allowing the Group to expand its services on a charitable basis.
Threshold's services include supported accommodation and floating support for a wide range of customers, as well as housing advice and casework for offenders.
Both companies are committed to supporting vulnerable groups and the new arrangement means they will share services and resources to improve the way they do this.
Threshold will remain as a charity within the Group with its own board, branding and business plan, but will share services such as corporate support and purchasing to help drive improvements, create efficiencies and enable Threshold to be more competitive in its market.
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St Mungo's Welcomes New NICE Guidelines on Tackling TB
23rd March 2012
St Mungo's has welcomed the new NICE guidelines on tackling TB amongst excluded groups but says that more investment in screening programmes is needed.
The guidance sets out how commissioners and providers of TB services and other statutory and voluntary organisations that work with excluded groups can achieve better outcomes through targeted action to find patients early, and by providing intensive clinical and social support to help them complete TB treatment.
Peter Cockersell, St Mungo's Director of Health and Recovery, said:
"St Mungo's welcomes new NICE guidelines on tackling TB amongst excluded groups but there remains a critical need for more sustained investment in screening programmes.
"Where St Mungo's provides accommodation for around 1,700 residents each night, there is only one mobile screening unit in London to find and treat those most at risk.
"TB is one of a number of health problems experienced disproportionately by homeless people. Their problems are more complex, they have poorer access to healthcare, and in many cases do not seek early healthcare intervention.
"Inclusion Health is working to help improve access to healthcare for excluded groups. Commissioners need to ensure that funding for TB screening and other vital healthcare services for homeless people remains firmly in place."
Use this link for more information about the new NICE guidelines.
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Homeless Link Publishes 2012 SNAP Report
30th March 2012
Homeless Link's Survey of Needs and Provision (SNAP) report comes at a time of significant challenges for projects working with homeless people as they face constraints on their capacity to provide services while demands for support are increasing.
The report states that sector capacity is being affected by cuts in other public spending, such as for mental health services that homelessness projects refer their clients to.
At the same time, Homeless Link state that there is clear evidence that homelessness is increasing, with homelessness acceptances by local authorities 14% higher in 2011 than the year before and recorded rough sleeping 23% higher in Autumn 2011 than in Autumn 2010.
The Government's welfare benefit reforms have the potential to amplify this effect of the economic downturn and further increase homelessness. Reductions in Housing Benefit, resulting from changes to Local Housing Allowance will increase the financial strain on people surviving on low incomes.
The report sheds light on how homelessness projects are responding to these challenges and continuing to support people to make the journey out of homelessness, as well as on how the capacity of projects to respond has changed.
The full report can be found on Homeless Link's website via this link.