Youth rough sleeping falls six per cent in London
Adam Offord
Monday, July 4, 2016
There has been a six per cent fall in young people sleeping rough in London at a time when the overall figure for street homelessness is on the rise, data has revealed.
Figures published by the Greater London Authority show that 830 under-25s were found rough sleeping at least once in the capital in 2015/16 compared with 880 the previous year.
?Of these, four were under the age of 18 - compared with nine under-18s in 2014/15.
??Young people accounted for around 10 per cent of the overall total of rough sleepers, which rose by six per cent.
Youth charity YMCA England welcomed the fall in youth rough sleeping but warned the number is still a third more than in 2011/12.?
?"YMCA welcomes news that youth rough sleeping has fallen in London despite the overall numbers of rough sleepers rising once again," said Denise Hatton, chief executive of YMCA England.?
?"It is a positive step forward and evidence of the good work being done to support young people in crisis.
"With 32 per cent more young people sleeping rough today compared with four years ago, it is imperative that decision makers see this fall in numbers as only the start and that policies are created that will continue to have a long-term impact on youth rough sleeping and youth homelessness more widely."
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said the figures "lay down a gauntlet" that mayor of London Sadiq Khan must act on.
"What the capital needs now is a wide-ranging, ambitious plan with sustained investment to tackle rough sleeping and to prevent homelessness," he said.
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??Dominic Williamson, St Mungo's executive director of strategy and policy, urged MPs to back a Homelessness Reduction Bill introduced by Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East.
"It is high time for further action to stop this scandal and we urge MPs to get behind this momentous opportunity to improve the support on offer to prevent and relieve homelessness before even more lives are damaged," Williamson said.
??"We are encouraged by the government's pledge to consider legislation to prevent further homelessness and we hope ministers will also back the new bill."
The Private Members, Bill would require all councils in England to take action to prevent people from becoming homeless. ??
