Homelessness - what's being done to help people get off the the streets

When the coronavirus reached its peak in the UK, the Government launched a project to help homeless people stay safe.

The ‘Everyone In’ scheme gave state funding to local councils to provide emergency accommodation to homeless people.

Decision makers, charities and councils now have a renewed struggle to find a way to continue to support homeless people and avoid turning them back out onto the streets.

The way homelessness is tackled varies across the country. We’ve taken a look at some of the schemes currently in operation and ways we can all help.

Liverpool’s Labre House rough sleeper hub

Labre House is a 24/7 hub in Liverpool that was created - and later extended - with the vision that no-one ever need sleep rough on the city’s streets. It was seen as a first of its kind due to the all year round, ‘everyone is welcome’ nature. It even accepts people with dogs.

During the coronavirus lockdown, Labre House had to close due to its communal nature of sleeping arrangements and the council housed people in hotels and other emergency accommodation. As lockdown eased the council changed the way it allocated social housing to try to rehouse rough sleepers permanently.

Labre House is part of The Whitechapel Centre, which runs a number of services for homeless people.

The public can support the scheme by donating goods or money, holding fundraisers and shopping in its fundraising store.

More hands-on support is also provided by a team of volunteers and peer mentors who help with the running of services and to offer advice, support and mentorship to homeless people.

Find out more via: The Whitechapel Centre ‘what you can do’ page.

Housing First projects

The Housing First project is working to provide homes to vulnerable people who may have complex needs, without setting hurdles in the way.

It does not require people to undertake treatment, for example, before getting a house. It only requires them to be prepared to maintain a tenancy agreement.

The idea behind the scheme is that having a secure home can be the first step towards mental health, addiction recovery, employment and a more stable life. Greater Manchester, where there are significant drug and alcohol issues, is one of the pilot areas.

Homeless Link is one of the organisations involved in delivering and scaling the project.

It invites contact from people in a position to plan and deliver a project and other interested parties. Sign up for its newsletter here.

The Big Issue, the publication printed for homeless people to sell, recently said Housing First projects are vital to keep people off the streets.

Micro homes

The Government has pledged to build 3,300 new ‘housing units’ in the next 12 months for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough.

A further 2,700 are due to come later.

In Cambridge, a small scale scheme was already planned before the coronavirus outbreak, which may prove an interesting template.

It is set to see the development of six portable micro homes, initially to be housed on church land. The affordable homes are intended to have a kitchen, bathroom, separate bedroom and living spaces and those in them would get support from a homelessness charity, Positive News reported.

What Big Issue founder says

Lord John Bird, founder of the Big Issue, has lobbied the Government for £105m for interim housing for the homeless following the coronavirus.

He told The Times the big mission is to prevent homelessness and poverty in the first place rather than to focus on its alleviation.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes