Town Hall unveils new master plan to help ‘end rough sleeping’

Hackney Council has published a fresh plan to tackle rough sleeping which includes support for European nationals and closer collaboration with the NHS and its own housing service.

The strategy, which outlines the Town Hall’s priorities over the next two years, focuses on more prevention, outreach and pathways out of homelessness.

An annual count last November, carried out by council volunteers on a single night, found 14 rough sleepers – down from 23 in 2018.

The Town Hall’s budget report says counts have since been increased to “bi-monthly”.

Key pledges in the new strategy include a Housing First project, expected to launch in March, which is designed to help “entrenched rough sleepers”, with complex needs such as mental health issues or substance misuse, into stable accommodation.

Rough sleepers from countries in the European Economic Area will receive “intensive employment support” which it is hoped will enable them to access welfare and housing benefits.

The Town Hall is also exploring ways to provide additional accommodation for rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds.

Hackney’s housing needs boss, Deputy Mayor Cllr Rebecca Rennison, said: “In 21st-century Britain, no one should ever need to sleep rough, but sadly we know that every night thousands of people across the country sleep on the street.

“The reasons that drive people to sleep rough are complex, but we are clear that as a council, we must work with our partners to do everything we can to prevent people from finding themselves homeless in the first place and supporting those that do into settled accommodation while helping with their wider support needs.

“In our 2018 manifesto we committed to ending rough sleeping in our borough, and this Rough Sleeping Strategy will play a key role in taking us towards this.”

The plans are designed to expand on the council’s work over the last four years, which has, among other things, seen it establish a new street outreach team, including a dedicated coordinator with oversight of all of the borough’s rough sleeping services.

A publicity campaign launched by the Town Hall on World Homelessness Day last year urges residents to ‘Talk, Tap, Time, Tell’.

These four steps – a friendly smile or greeting, using a Tap London contactless donation point, giving up some time to volunteer, or letting outreach workers know through the Streetlink app when you see someone bedding down for the night – can make a positive difference.

For more information on rough sleeping support in Hackney, head to hackney.gov.uk/rough-sleeping