Metro Mayors urged to end rough sleeping

The Salvation Army is calling on candidates who are standing for the four main political parties in the mayoral elections in England to sign a pledge to work to end rough sleeping if elected.

The church and charity’s divisional commanders and political affairs colleagues wrote to candidates in each of the mayoral election areas urging them to help ensure the government provides enough long-term funding for homelessness prevention.

The Salvation Army is one of the largest homelessness charities operating in the UK, providing more than 3,000 places for people in lifehouses (supported housing) across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

To help end homelessness and rough sleeping, the church and charity is urging the government to:
introduce robust recording of rough sleeper numbers so that support services can be sufficiently planned and funded; ensure investment in homelessness support does not fall below the £750 million invested in 2020/21; and reverse its freeze on the value of Local Housing Allowance rates to enable people on benefits or low incomes to afford to rent at least three in every ten of the most affordable properties in any given area.

Major Ian Harris, divisional commander of the Severn and Somerset Division, said: “I was pleased to write to the Mayoral candidates of the four main parties to ask for their help to end homelessness in our great cities. The Salvation Army’s frontline in the west of England has been working hard throughout the pandemic to provide beds, hot meals, warm clothing and a listening ear to rough sleepers.

“Every day they see the devastating impact homelessness has on people’s lives and the knock-on effect on services like the NHS and police, as they try to help people affected. Although real progress was made during the pandemic as part of the ‘Everyone In’ scheme, it is vital we keep up the momentum and ensure long term funding for homelessness services especially as an economic downturn is likely to mean more people are forced to sleep on the streets. I forward to working with our elected mayor to press the case for the necessary government funding to eradicate homelessness.”