Section: Homelessness & Rough Sleeping

Troubling rise in London rough sleeping emphasises need for ambitious action

Posted 09.09.20
Homeless Link: Further reading

The number of people seen sleeping rough in London rose to 10,726 in 2019/20, according to data released by CHAIN (Combined Homelessness and Information Network's).

Of this total, 66% of people were seen sleeping rough for the first time. The data shows that 17% of those seen sleeping rough were women and 8% were young people under the age of 25.

Rick Henderson, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, comments: "This picture of rough sleeping in London in 2019/20 is very troubling, representing a steep rise in people who have faced increasing and insurmountable pressures and been pushed into homelessness.

"Pre-dating the crisis caused by the pandemic, this only emphasises how important it is that we continue to act urgently to bring people in and ensure that nobody returns or is new to the streets.

"We need a firm commitment to longer term funding in the forthcoming Spending Review to ensure that everyone, regardless of their immigration status, receives support and accommodation to leave homelessness behind them.

"On top of this, we need a new focus on preventing people from sleeping rough in the first place."

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