Homeless Link appoints new Head of London and the South East

Homeless Link has appointed Gary Messenger as head of London and the South East.

Gary joins the homelessness umbrella group from the Department of Communities and Local Government where he was the Head of the Homelessness Programme.

Gary has been working in Homelessness for the past 10 years. During that time he has:

• Ensured every local authority had a statutory duty to adopt a strategy to prevent homelessness
• Ensured that homelessness families were not placed in B&B accommodation unless in an emergency
• Reduced the number of households in temporary accommodation from 101,0000 (in 2004) to under 50,000 by 2010
• Reduced the number of households in England being accepted as homeless from 140,000 in 2003 to under 40,000 by 2010

Commenting on the appointment, Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, said: “Gary understands the issue of ending homelessness inside-out. He has worked on the front-line and has helped shape national strategy for Government. This experience should make a real difference as our members push to make services better and ultimately end homelessness once and for all.”