The government is moving in the right direction - but how can we all fight street homelessness?
As increased funding arrives to try and cope with a rapidly increasing homelessness crisis, CEO of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity Fran Darlington-Pollock looks at how the issue can be tackled
The government has announced that emergency winter funding to support people rough sleeping has tripled to deal with unprecedented numbers. This welcome increase, from £10 million to £30 million, shows a serious response to a serious crisis - especially as winter puts more pressure on local authorities and homeless charities. It is a step in the right direction, but at night, freezing temperatures across the country remain a deadly, daily threat for people sleeping in the cold.
Government figures released at the start of winter showed a 16.3 per cent annual rise in the number of households living in temporary accommodation across the UK. This means that more people are closer to homelessness and to rough sleeping. It is no surprise that we’ve seen a rise in the number of deaths of people who were sleeping on the streets.
These numbers represent the challenges faced by people trying to cover the cost of their daily needs and essentials, and the consequences when insufficient help is provided in terms of housing and support.
So, in tandem with this funding increase and with a proactive attitude to tackling homelessness, there are ways that we, as individuals and as a society, can help to reverse this trend. Starting with small actions to support people who are experiencing rough sleeping, we can encourage gradual change and call for a longer-term funding and housing plan to relieve the pressures placed on local authority and charity budgets.
Make human connections
Establishing a human connection can have a huge impact for somebody experiencing street homelessness. This could simply involve saying hi and asking how they are. People often feel uncomfortable talking to someone they don’t know, but taking a minute out of your day to create a personal connection can make a real difference for people who can feel ignored.
Alert local support services
If you’re in England and Wales, familiarise yourself with StreetLink. It’s a website that you can use to alert local services to the location of someone who is rough sleeping. Through the website, you can help people at risk get the support they need, from those equipped to help.
This type of support often comes through services that provide shelter to those who need it across the country. In Greater Manchester, this comes through the pioneering A Bed Every Night scheme. This unparalleled service benefits from additional support through donations from individual supporters and corporate partners to deliver a universal offer. It ensures people don’t just have a bed for the night, but also vital wraparound support to help people get back on their feet. Of course, this is just one of a network of organisations and authorities throughout the UK which provides support.
A call on government
Ultimately, a long-term strategy to end homelessness and rough sleeping must come from the government. The increase in funding has demonstrated an ambition to tackle the deepening crisis, but the announcement focuses on the symptom of homelessness and is not enough alone - Labour’s pledge to increase investment into affordable housing must be a pledge for truly affordable housing.
Any intervention must also consist of immediate improvement to the current stock of social housing - and the investment to sustain it - alongside a welfare system that provides an adequate safety net for all. This will reverse the ever-increasing, unsustainable pressures being placed on charitable organisations and local authorities.
By engaging with the conversation about homelessness, directly helping people experiencing street homelessness and supporting charities and services like ours, we can keep the issue in the national spotlight and steer the statistics in the right direction.
About the author: Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock is Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, an independent charity who believes homelessness has no place in Greater Manchester. Her career has spanned time as a lecturer in population and health geography, and the INGO sector.
Homelessness stems from Housing, a topic we return to again and again on The Lead. Why? Because it highlights so much of what’s wrong with inequality and more. Brick-by-Brick is our campaign to put the spotlight on the country’s housing crisis and ask what can be done. Read our Westminster Editor Zoe Grunwald’s launch piece, more great writing from Hannah Fearn on the housing crisis and Kevin Gopal exploring what’s happening across social housing in the North of England. If you have a story related to housing you think we should be covering, then contact zoe@thelead.uk to let her know. You can help support our writing on the housing crisis by considering a paid subscription to help us bring more stories into the light, use the button below to sign up.