Mario has welcomed the Government’s announcement that more than £25 million will be allocated to 108 areas across the country, including Croydon – providing vital funding to help the most vulnerable rough sleepers off the streets as part of the Conservative Government’s £100 million plan to end rough sleeping by 2027.
Croydon Council is set to receive £622,551 as part of this funding, which will provide rough sleepers with the specialist support they need to get off the streets for good. Local authorities such as Croydon Council will use this investment to fund innovative local schemes aimed at supporting vulnerable people so they are able to get into stable accommodation where they will then receive the tailored care they need.
This will include:
- Somewhere Safe to Stay rough sleeping centres – where people on the streets can access professional help and guidance, including immediate shelter and mental health support.
- Navigator posts – specialist support workers who direct people to the services they need, such as counselling, housing advice services, mental health support or substance misuse services.
- Supported Lettings Schemes – helping people to secure tenancies in properties that they may not otherwise be able to access.
- Dedicated Local Letting Agencies – specialist agencies that support vulnerable people into affordable and stable accommodation.
Commenting, Mario said:
“The Conservative Party is working hard to ensure no one has to spend a night on the streets, and this investment will provide vulnerable people in Croydon with the support they need to get off the streets for good.
“Local authorities will be able to use the funding to develop the right support for vulnerable rough sleepers in their local areas. I look forward to working with Croydon Council so that no one in Croydon has to spend a night on the streets.”
Housing and Homelessness Minister Heather Wheeler MP said:
“We are taking steps to ensure people in Croydon never have to face even one night on the streets.
“These are vulnerable people, who may be dealing with complex mental health problems or addictions and require specialist support to tackle these issues and turn their lives around.
“The funding confirmed today will ensure those sleeping on the streets in Croydon have access to the professional help and guidance they need to get back on their feet – taking us one step closer to ending rough sleeping for good.”
This additional funding for Croydon Council forms part of the Conservative Government’s £100 million plan to end rough sleeping by 2027. Progress is already being made with the first fall in rough sleeping since 2010 and falls of almost 20 per cent in the worse-affected area. Schemes like this will help us achieve our ambition of being a country in which no-one needs to spend a night on the streets.
- We are cutting the number of rough sleepers by 19 per cent in areas using our Rough Sleeping Initiative. The programme is working in the 83 areas of the country with the highest levels of rough sleepers to respond to the health needs of people who sleep rough and provide services in place quickly to get people off the streets before the winter period (MHCLG, Rough Sleeping Statistics Autumn 2018, England (Revised), 25 February 2019, link; MHCLG, Rough Sleeping Strategy, August 2018, link).
- The number of counted or estimated rough sleepers in England has fallen by 2 per cent since 2017. This was down by 74 people or 2 per cent from the 2017 total of 4,751, and was up 2,909 people or 165 per cent from the 2010 total of 1,768 (MHCLG, Rough Sleeping Statistics Autumn 2018, England, 31 January 2019, link).
- We are launching 11 rough sleeping hubs across England to provide specialist support for thousands of vulnerable people. 11 rough sleeping hubs to be launched across England – providing specialist support for thousands of vulnerable people with locations including Bristol, Derby and West London (MHCLG, Press release, 18 December 2018, link).
- The number of rough sleepers has decreased in England, but increased in Sadiq Khan’s London since 2017. The number of people sleeping rough decreased by 220 or 6 per cent in the rest of England but increased by 146 or 13 per cent in London since 2017 (MHCLG, Rough Sleeping Statistics Autumn 2018, England, 31 January 2019, link).
- Housing charity Shelter has warned that Labour’s housing policy could push people into homelessness. Labour’s rent control policy ‘risks pushing people into homelessness’ (Shelter, 27 September 2017, link).
Photo by Anjana Menon on Unsplash
