Monday, December 9, 2024

The prevention of homelessness is everybody’s business

The prevention of homelessness remains a key priority for Birmingham City Council and today the City Council has launched its strategy on how this will be done.

Cabinet approved The Homelessness Prevention Strategy 2024-2029 on 23 July. It highlights the need for everyone to work together to prevent homelessness wherever possible. When this can’t be achieved, the focus will be on ensuring homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

Councillor Jayne Francis, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said: “Tackling homelessness in Birmingham is not something the council can achieve alone. The scale of the challenge is too great. Preventing homelessness is everybody’s business in Birmingham.

“Strengthening relationships across the council and with partner organisations will be central to how we help those in need. This work will be vital as having a place to call home is one of the most basic human necessities. The trauma and instability homelessness causes debilitates a person’s life.

“The cost of living crisis and the national housing crisis are two of the reasons why homelessness is more common. With affordable homes in short supply, thousands of households are living in unsuitable homes or are at risk of homelessness.

“In January 2024, around 5,000 households were living in temporary accommodation. There were also 30,000 households seeking more suitable accommodation via the Housing Register. These numbers continue to increase.

“In recent years, the council has had some success helping people who sleep rough. The number of people sleeping rough on our streets on any given night has reduced from 91 in 2018 to 36 in 2023. But we know these numbers are rising again.
“People with lived experience of homelessness have guided our work, and we want to thank them for their vital contribution.

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