News

We set out our concerns about Part 4 of the Police Bill, which could have an important implications for homelessness.

With pandemic restrictions lifting, many homelessness organisations are already reporting a rising number of people sleeping rough. Fiona Colley, Director of StreetLink talks about how members of the public can play a role in supporting people sleeping rough this winter.

Long-awaited guidance has shed light on the new rough sleeping Immigration Rules, but despite attempts to mitigate their worst aspects, Homeless Link remain deeply concerned about the impact they will have on vulnerable non-UK nationals and community trust in homelessness services.

From June this year, more young people have been able to benefit from greater financial support for their housing costs, helping them move on from homelessness for good. Billy Harding, Senior Policy and Research Officer at Centrepoint, talks about what this change means for young people and the campaign that made it happen.

140 single gender spaces will be created as part of a £3.7m fund providing safe accommodation with expert specialist support. We hear from one of our members Basis Yorkshire about what this funding means for the women they support and what key considerations are needed to ensure it delivers for women.

Enabling small-to-medium sized homelessness charities, community and faith groups and voluntary sector organisations to develop accommodation options that are self-contained, Covid-secure and dignified.

Back at the end of last year, we wrote about the need to get people with no home registered with GPs to maximise their chance of timely vaccination against COVID.

There’s lots of information about how members of the public can take positive action when they see someone sleeping rough in cold weather. But periods of hot weather can also be harmful for people sleeping rough. Director of StreetLink Fiona Colley discusses what people can do if they are concerned about someone sleeping rough during the summer months.

Regular readers of Homeless Link blogs will know that earlier this month, we wrote to the Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment to ask that working with people who have no home is treated as a priority occupation for vaccination, as a matter for urgency. We also asked members to write to their MPs to raise the same issue and many have taken immediate action, including asking their workforce to write to their own MPs.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has announced £233,000 of funding for frontline organisations to support people sleeping rough in London with accessing immigration advice.

Homeless Link is advocating for roles working with people experiencing homelessness to be treated as a priority occupation for COVID-19 vaccination. Services can help strengthen our call by writing to their local MP.

On 9 September 2021, MHCLG released the latest statutory homelessness statistics, covering the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The statutory statistics capture data on everyone who has been assessed under the Homelessness Reduction Act, meaning that since 2018 we have been able to see a much more detailed picture of single homelessness.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced a £3 million grants fund to enable community and faith groups to provide winter services for people sleeping rough in 2021/22.

The government has announced a consultation on the replacement to the vagrancy act. Tell us what you think.

Local Authorities are currently developing plans that will shape homelessness services for the next three years. The voluntary sector can, and should engage now to share best practice and help shape those services.

Everyone In represented the first time that England had attempted a local authority-led universal homelessness response. The results for non-UK national homelessness were remarkable, but the measures were temporary. Now, as winter provision continues and local authorities plan RSI 2022-25, we must galvanise good practice and advocate clearly and consistently for the changes needed.

A new, longer-term Rough Sleeping Initiative round should allow local authorities to embed Housing First as part of a mixed approach to tackling rough sleeping.

New CHAIN rough sleeping figures for quarter 3 of 2021/22 show a 17% fall in people sleeping rough in the capital compared to same quarter in the previous year.

To mark LGBTQI+ history month, CEO at Micro Rainbow Sebastian Rocca writes about why some LGBTQI+ non-UK nationals experience homeless and the best way to provide people with meaningful support.

Homeless Link’s Women’s Homelessness Project is launching a new free pilot aimed at supporting mixed-sex services to improve the way they engage and support women.