Businesses asked to help in drive to end rough sleeping

The government is calling on business and charity leaders to be more generous in offering employment opportunities to former homeless people.

The drive is part of a £2 billion package of funding to help eradicate rough sleeping by targeting the root causes of the problem and ending rough sleeping by the close of this Parliament.

Employment improves the accommodation prospects for people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping both in the long and short term – an income means they have more choices and an employment contract will improve the negotiation position of any tenant.

At a virtual roundtable, Eddie Hughes, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, and David Rutley, Minister for Welfare Delivery, stressed that finding jobs for people was key to helping to end homelessness and called on businesses to do more. Together, they urged business and charity leaders to be more generous in offering employment opportunities to former homeless people, challenging the stigma around giving jobs to people who been living on the streets.

Hughes said: “A job for someone who has been homeless or slept rough is a vital step towards helping them to rebuild their life and can be crucial to ending the cycle of homelessness. There was a huge amount of support around the table today – and we heard first-hand just how much giving someone who was homeless a job benefits the individual and the business. Now I’m calling on more businesses – big and small – to step up and do their bit to change lives – just by simply giving someone a chance.”