Record Number Of Rough Sleeper Alerts Sent In 24-Hour Period

StreetLink typically sees its use peak during periods of extreme weather, but this recent 24-hour period recorded the highest number of rough sleeper alerts since the launch of StreetLink in December 2012. Members of the public sent over 3,600 alerts to StreetLink – a website, mobile app and phone line that connects people sleeping rough in England and Wales to local services – over the 24-hour period from the morning of Monday 26 to Tuesday 27 February, as the country continues to experience snow and sub-zero temperatures. Read more on the Homeless Link website.

https://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/news/2018/feb/27/record-number-of-rough-sleeper-alerts-sent-in-24-hour-period

Homelessness - Parliamentary Written Answer

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the findings of the recent research by Crisis into the treatment of single homeless people by local authorities in England.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are helping single homeless people find and sustain accommodation in the private rented sector through our £13 million funding to Crisis. By 2016 we expect the Crisis scheme to have helped 10,000 single homeless people since it started in 2010. We are continuing to tackle and prevent rough sleeping. Thousands of vulnerable people have been helped off the streets through the No Second Night Out and Streetlink initiatives. £20 million funding has been made available to the voluntary sector through the Homelessness Transition Fund which has helped No Second Night Out schemes across the country. There have been 18,000 Streetlink referrals since December 2012.

Figures Show Half of Rough Sleepers Don't Seek Help

Half of rough sleepers do not seek help before leaving their home, new figures have shown. A survey by Homeless Link showed 49 per cent of people sleeping rough for the first time do not ask for assistance before they leave their last settled home. The poll of rough sleepers came as the umbrella body published its first report into Streetlink, a government-funded hotline and website designed to link homeless people with local services. Since Streetlink was set up by Homeless Link and Broadway last December, there have been 10,988 alerts to local services, with 4,161 people found and in contact with services. Download a copy of the report from the Homeless Link website.

Homelessness – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has (a) taken since May 2010 and (b) plans to take in the next 12 months to tackle homelessness; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Prisk (edited reply): At the beginning of this Parliament we established a Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness to tackle the complex drivers of homelessness. The group has published two reports so far: ‘Vision to end

rough sleeping’ and ‘Making every contact Count’, which are available via the Department's website.  We have since made common sense changes to the rules to enable local authorities to help families quickly into settled homes in the private rented sector and we are tackling affordability by increasing supply of affordable and market rent housing. And despite the difficult climate, we have invested £470 million over four years to help local authorities prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions. We have also increased the discretionary housing payments pot to around £400 million over the spending period to help families and those in vulnerable situations with the transition of welfare reform changes. We have also supported the voluntary sector to develop a new service—Streetlink which offers a hand-up, rather than a handout. Streetlink provides a central point of contact that anyone who wants to get help for rough sleepers across England can call. The national telephone line (0300 500 0914) was launched last year.

Over the next 12 months we will continue to invest in preventing homelessness and implement and develop policies via the Ministerial Working Group and our partners.

£20 Million Fund for No Second Night out for Rough Sleepers

As temperatures drop across the country, the Government has handed a lifeline to thousands of homeless people with the latest round of funding in support of its 'No Second Night Out' campaign.  More than 2,000 people are estimated to be sleeping rough on any one night in England with many facing freezing conditions over the coming days.  The £3.6 million funding, allocated across 22 communities, follows the launch of StreetLink, a new England-wide hotline and website which enables concerned members of the public to help connect a rough sleeper with local advice and services.  Read more on the CLG website.

Prisk Backs New Rough Sleeping Helpline

Anyone looking to help rough sleepers this winter should contact a new service to get them long-term support advises Housing Minister Mark Prisk. The minister was speaking at the launch of StreetLink, a new national hotline and website service that connects rough sleepers with the local help and advice they need to get off the streets and get their lives back on track.  Mr Prisk said that StreetLink offers concerned members of the public a better option than handing out money or food, by directing rough sleepers to the help they need, and providing them with a “hand up, not a hand out”.  Read more on the CLG website.