“It is good to see that the crisis of homelessness being prioritised. A cash injection to the sector is vital – between January and March alone this year, 86,520 households qualified for homelessness support from their councils. This is the highest number since these records began, with record numbers also in temporary accommodation and sleeping rough – thousands of people lacking a safe, secure and stable place to call home.
Therefore, we welcome news that more resources will be available for charities and frontline workers who provide essential services to get rough sleepers off the street and into secure housing, as well as helping homeless families out of temporary accommodation.
We know the challenges that frontline workers, and the people they support, face. Our 2024 survey of frontline workers found that nearly half of all frontline staff feel that their ability to prevent homelessness has decreased, due to a lack of housing for those in need, combined with increased demand. We need to see this cash injection combined with determined efforts to building the social homes that people facing homelessness desperately need and the development of a strong and effective homelessness strategy that will deliver the long-term policies and funding to sustainably reduce and resolve homelessness.”
Duncan Shrubsole, CEO, St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity
