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St Mungo’s welcomes Minister of State for Social Security and Disability to Camden Homelessness Service

Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms, the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability, visited a St Mungo’s service last week in Camden to see how people affected by homelessness are being supported into work through skills activities, training and support with gaining employment.

The minister observed a construction skills workshop held at the service to help clients build confidence and prepare for employment. He also spoke with members of St Mungo’s staff about the complex issues preventing many people from working.

This included the cliff-edge in financial support that many people living in supported accommodation face once they start working more hours because of the impact to their benefits.

The visit comes as rough sleeping in the capital remains consistently high, with Camden recording the second highest rate of any London borough. Last summer, 298 people were sleeping rough in the area – up by 7% from the same period the previous year.

St Mungo’s is on the frontline of the homelessness emergency, helping to end homelessness and rebuild lives. St Mungo’s work ranges from street outreach to emergency and long-term accommodation. They also deliver a range of services to help people more away from homelessness, including skills training, such as digital training, gardening and construction skills.

Speaking at the visit, the Minister said:

“I was impressed by St Mungo’s excellent work to help people affected by homelessness to overcome barriers to get into work.

“As we get on with the job to end homelessness once and for all, our Get Britain Working plan will drive up employment and drive down poverty in every corner of our country.”

During his visit, the minister met with clients including Muhith, aged 46, who has just started attending the construction skills course.

Muhith said: “After two days on this course, I am more optimistic about my future than I’ve been in a long time. I want to be able to work and earn money, so I can pay my rent. That means I won’t have to be homeless again. I’ve already gained so much confidence, and for that I will always be thankful to St Mungo’s. It’s such a valuable service.”

The Minister also met St Mungo’s Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation, Sean Palmer, during a tour of the centre, which supports single people experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives through activities, training and employment programmes.

Sean commented: “On behalf of St Mungo’s, I would like to thank The Minister for visiting our Camden service and meeting with some of our clients. We are grateful to the Minister to have the opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges faced by many people entering work after homelessness and our work to support them.

We know that people are more likely to move away from homelessness if they are supported to do so from somewhere safe to stay. Within our supported accommodation, St. Mungo’s provides valuable skills training and work programmes to empower people into education and employment.

In many cases work does not pay and working more than a few hours a week may make it impossible for people to afford their accommodation. As a result, people who want to work are being disincentivised and prevented from doing so.

According to St Mungo’s client feedback survey*, 27% of its clients worry that working whilst living in homeless accommodation will cause problems with their benefits.

We appreciate the Minister’s time and engagement with this issue and hope to continue to work with Government to resolve it, so more of our clients can access and benefit from employment without risking their accommodation.”

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