Thousands of people are still sleeping rough despite a government campaign to reduce homelessness during lockdown, new figures show.
According to Combined data Roaming and Information Network (Chain), around 3,002 street sleepers were identified by outreach teams in London between January and March.
More than half (52%) were on the streets for the first time, while 11% lived on the streets all the time.
More than half of the 3,002 street sleepers identified in the first trimester were on the streets for the first time
Earlier this year, as the lockdown began, the government urged local authorities to “redouble their efforts” to accommodate rough sleepers in England.
Channel figures show 1,587 Londoners have been placed emergency accommodation in the first part of 2021 – a substantial increase of 72% compared to the previous quarter.
The total number of street sleepers recorded in the first three months of this year fell 19% from the same period last year and 9% from September to December.
While the Salvation Army said the government’s Everybody’s campaign made a difference, the charity warned that homelessness would become even more prevalent if support mechanisms were suddenly removed after restrictions on lock relaxed.
“While real progress has been made with the Everyone In initiative and other programs aimed at preventing and alleviating homelessness during the pandemic, it is essential to maintain the momentum and ensure a long-term investment in homeless services, ”said Lorrita Johnson, The Salvation Army’s director of homelessness services.
“This is essential because an economic downturn is likely to mean more people will be forced to sleep on the streets in the months and years to come.”
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-04-30 17:42:00
