Posted 25.01.17
Department for Communities and Local Government: Article link
Rough sleeping counts and estimates are single night snapshots of the number of people sleeping rough in local authority areas.
The latest figures show more than half of councils in England recorded a rise in rough sleeping compared with the year before. More than 4,000 people a night have been sleeping rough on England's streets, which is a 16% increase on last year.
London accounted for 23% of the England total (960), down slightly from 26% in 2015.
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Posted 18.01.17
Department for Communities and Local Government: Article link
Councils are to receive a further £48 million funding to help them deliver new and expanded services to prevent and reduce homelessness, Local Government Minister Marcus Jones has confirmed.
This new funding will be available to councils in England to meet the costs of the Homelessness Reduction Private Members' Bill, which if passed by Parliament, will mean anyone at risk of losing their home will get the help they need more quickly.
Under the Bill, local authorities will be required to help all eligible people - whether they are single or a family - for 56 days before they are threatened with homelessness. Those who are already homeless will get support for a further 56 days to help them secure accommodation.
Other services will also be required to refer homeless people or those at risk to local authority housing teams who can provide them with free information and advice services.
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Posted 13.01.17
Housing LIN: Case study link
St Basils has been providing supported accommodation and a range of services to homeless young people across the West Midlands, many of whom were increasingly presenting with complex trauma and higher/ multiple needs.
These issues led St Basils to develop a PIE approach in partnership with Dr Nick Maguire from the University of Southampton and local mental health services in 2011.
This case study outlines how St Basils, a housing service which supports young homeless people, has implemented and evaluated a bespoke psychologically-informed environment (PIE) to meet the emotional and psychological needs of their clients.
It focusses on the transformation of St Basils into a psychologically-aware housing service.
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Posted 09.01.17
Scottish Housing News: Article link
Homelessness policy experts have criticised a charity's plan to build Scotland's first homeless village as well-intentioned but likely to be ineffective in helping rough sleepers.
Josh Littlejohn, the entrepreneur and philanthropist behind the Social Bite sandwich social enterprise chain, plans to create a cluster of eco-homes in Granton providing temporary accommodation and support for up to 20 homeless people.
Concerns have been raised, however, that creating a homeless-only community may actually hinder rather than help the residents.
Beth Watts, a research fellow at Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University who specialises in homelessness policy, said - "Temporary accommodation and hostels have been concentrating homeless people together for decades, which can hinder recovery from poor mental health or addiction. Evidence from around the world increasingly suggests that homeless people should instead be moved directly to permanent accommodation in mainstream neighbourhoods."
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Posted 03.01.17
GOV.UK: Article link
On a visit to Thames Reach Employment Academy in Southwark (21.12.16), Theresa May and Sajid Javid announced details of winning bids set to benefit from the total £50 million government funding announced earlier this year.
The successful proposals submitted by local authorities include plans for improved collaboration between different agencies to better identify at risk households, targeting interventions well before they are threatened with eviction.
Successful bids announced today are part of a total £50 million national government funding announced in October.