St Mungo’s has welcomed the Government announcement today of an additional £105 million to be used to support rough sleepers and those at risk of homelessness into tenancies of their own, including “through help with deposits for accommodation, and securing thousands of alternative rooms already available and ready for use, such as student accommodation.”
Dominic Williamson, St Mungo’s Executive Director of Strategy and Policy, said: “We welcome this significant commitment of new money to help people who had been rough sleeping to move away from the streets for good.
“The Government’s “Everyone In” initiative to protect homeless people during the pandemic was brilliant. As part of this, St Mungo’s staff have helped more than 2,700 to safely isolate in otherwise empty hotels, already supported more than 300 people to move into longer term accommodation and, as part of our No Going Back campaign, we had been calling on the Government to invest where it was critically needed.
“This work takes time, and the people remaining in the hotels had been anxious about what would happen when the hotels began to return to business as usual so this is welcome news.
“The Government’s move today will bring much needed breathing space for those in need and we look forward to continuing to work with our local authorities and other partners to ensure no one in the hotels has to go back to the streets.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- There were 4,266 people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night last year. Rough sleeping and homelessness has grown over the last decade. It is harmful and dangerous and ruins lives.
- People experiencing homelessness are more likely than most to have an issue with their health; the average age of death is 45 for a man, and for a woman just 43, and poor health is at the root of this problem.
About St Mungo’s
For 50 years St Mungo’s has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle homelessness. Last year 30,000 people were supported by St Mungo’s services. Each night our 17 outreach teams go out to help people sleeping rough to move away from the streets, and every night we provide a bed and support to over 2,850 people. We work to prevent homelessness and support people at every step of their recovery from homelessness. www.mungos.org
