Homeless Link
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Homelessness sector calls for manifesto pledges to end rough sleeping
With the snap election scheduled for 8 June 2017, Homeless Link, together with some of our national members, is calling on all political parties to pledge to commit to end rough sleeping in their General Election manifestos.
The Homelessness Reduction Bill officially became an Act of Parliament on 27 April, placing a new duty on local authorities to help prevent homelessness regardless of priority need.
This is a hugely positive development but, as we all know, there is still work to be done to ensure we can end homelessness for good. As a sector, we will continue to work together to do everything we can to support single people who do become homeless, innovating and adapting to meet the need. In particular, the concerning rise in the number of people sleeping rough must be addressed.
Call to end rough sleeping
Ahead of the General Election, Homeless Link, in partnership with Centrepoint, Crisis, Shelter and St Mungo’s, is calling for all political parties to commit to an ambitious new national initiative to end rough sleeping. We are asking our members to support and join this campaign by meeting with or writing to the party leaders and your Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) to make the same ask.
The new rough sleepers initiative should act to end homelessness by:
- Preventing people sleeping rough in the first place
- Providing a robust response to get people off the streets
- Ensuring that people do not return to rough sleeping
Encourage clients to vote
Frontline staff can also encourage democratic engagement among their service users, and let them know that they are eligible to vote in the election. The deadline for registering to vote is 22 May. Information and resources from our Your Vote Matters campaign might be useful for supporting your clients to ensure their voices are heard, and for helping you to arrange activity around the election. These can be found here.
The General Election gives our sector another opportunity to make a difference to the lives of the people we support, and we hope that many of you will get involved.
If you have any questions about our manifesto ask or any of the other issues raised here, please email louise.weaver@homelesslink.org.uk.
