- Financial education 'prevents youth homelessness' - The Money House Report
- 320,000 people in Britain are now homeless, as numbers keep rising
- "Snapshot" rough sleeper counts seriously underestimates the the true number of rough sleepers
- New projects announced to prevent youth homelessness in Wales
- Joint letter calls for NHS Long Term Plan to address shocking health inequalities for homeless people
- Greater Manchester launches its ground-breaking plan to tackle rough sleeping this winter
- New Figures: London rough sleeping hits record levels
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Posted 28.11.18
MyBnk: Article link
The latest of the independent reports into the effectiveness of MyBnk's financial education projects has shown dramatic reductions in the number of vulnerable young people being evicted from UK social housing.
Nearly a thousand 16-25 year-olds in care or sheltered accommodation took part in a two year impact study of 'The Money House' project in London.
Findings from the independent ERS found participants were now three times less likely to have unsustainable arrears and there was a 64% drop in evictions for those 'at risk' of losing their home.
The report was part funded by the Money Advice Service.
In the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis, research tells us one in three care leavers currently lose their first home and it costs on average £7,056 to evict a tenant.
ERS found over £300,000 of direct savings in this project alone. With 10,000 young people leaving care annually, cash strapped councils could save millions of pounds.
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Posted 23.11.18
Shelter: Article link
Brand new analysis from Shelter reveals that 320,000 people are recorded as homeless, as numbers rise again.
In the last year, the overall number increased by 13,000 people. This means one in every 200 people in Britain are homeless and sleeping on the streets or stuck in temporary accommodation, including hostels and B&Bs.
In its annual landmark review, the housing charity combined official rough-sleeping, temporary accommodation and social services figures. As these records are not definitive, the true extent of homelessness is likely even greater.
Shelter has launched an urgent appeal calling on the public to support its frontline advisers as they work to help the growing number of people trying to find or keep their home.
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Posted 21.11.18
HuffPost UK: Article link
An investigation by HuffPost UK has shown the government's use of "snapshot" rough sleeper counts on just one night of the year in autumn are being used to provide data on the nationwide levels of homelessness, despite being unreliable.
HuffPost UK's analysis of last year's figures shows 33 of 326 local authorities in England recorded zero rough sleepers for 2017 - including the London borough of Barking and Dagenham, where street sleepers are visible throughout the year.
This is because council officers recording no rough sleepers on the one night they collected the data, which was between October 1 and November 30 last year.
Accuracy of the data is crucial, as government uses it to make policy and funding decisions about tackling street homelessness - meaning the figures have a direct impact on the money and support reaching rough sleepers.
The government says the statistics represents the number of people seen or thought to be sleeping rough on a "typical night".
It argues that asking local authorities to supply annual figures would require a "multi-agency database" or counting the number of people sleeping rough on every night of the year, which is not practical.
But council leaders say that any local authority where an outreach service for rough sleepers is operated, either by the council or a charity, would already hold more robust data about patterns of street sleeping over the year than the official government figures.
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Posted 20.11.18
Welsh Government: Article link
Last year, the First Minister announced an extra £10 million to support the Welsh Government's target to end youth homelessness in Wales by 2027.
In this latest announcement, First Minister, Carwyn Jones has set out how this funding will be used to identify those at risk of becoming homeless sooner and to take preventative action.
The funding includes:
The funding also includes £1 million to double the St David's Day Fund which already provides practical financial support to care leavers in their move towards adulthood and independence.
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Posted 06.11.18
Homeless Link: Article link
More than 20 organisations representing nurses, outreach workers and homeless health professionals have joined forces with a letter to urge NHS England CEO Simon Stevens to spend more on specialist health interventions for homeless people.
People who are homeless experience some of the worst health outcomes in England, and die 30 years earlier than the general population.
Rough sleeping has risen by 169% since 2010. Of the people seen sleeping rough in London in 2017-18, 50% had mental health problems, 43% had alcohol problems and 40% had drug problems. Estimates also put the proportion with physical health conditions at 46%.
Following the new £20 billion funding over the next five years announced in the 2018 Budget, the organisations - including St Mungo's, Homeless Link and the Queen's Nursing Institute - are urging NHS England to use the upcoming Long Term Plan to commit some of this new spending to dedicated specialist interventions.
They also want to see a clear plan for how to address the shocking health inequalities that exist at present.
The above link gives access to the draft of the letter.
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Posted 02.11.18
Greater Manchester Combined Authority: Article link
'A Bed Every Night - ' Greater Manchester's ambitious plan to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping - commenced on the evening of 1st November with the opening of accommodation in every borough.
This winter's large-scale joined-up approach will see the provision of an initial 260 beds for individuals sleeping rough every night of the forthcoming winter, November to March.
As well as a bed, the aim is to provide access to hot food, a hot shower and specialist support to enable those in accommodation to begin a sustainable journey away from life on the streets and for all provision to be of the highest possible standard.
All 10 local authorities across the City-region have pledged support and resources, while the Mayor is appealing to the public to donate money to the Mayor's Homelessness Fund, with every penny directed to back 'A Bed Every Night' over the coming months.
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Posted 01.11.18
Crisis: Article link
New figures reveal that 3,103 people were found sleeping rough in London between July and September 2018 - the first time levels have risen to over 3,000 in a single quarter.
The numbers reveal an increase in rough sleepers of 20% on the previous quarter and an increase of 17% on the same period last year.
Over the same period, outreach teams recorded 1,382 people sleeping rough for the first time - a rise of 28% on the previous period and 20% on the same period last year.
The figures present information about people seen rough sleeping by outreach teams in London in July - September 2018.
