Council focuses on supporting people severely affected by the housing crisis.
The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy sets out how Newham Council will intervene early to prevent people from becoming homeless, support people to stay off the streets, and improve long-term housing access and supply.
Rokshana Fiaz, Mayor of Newham, said:
“As Mayor, my pledge to tackle homelessness is a personal priority because I know how it feels to lose your family home.
I am so proud that our hard work in Newham has reduced rough sleeping by 92%, the largest proportionate drop in the UK. With 94% of people receiving our support successfully staying off the streets, we know our programmes are working – but we can and must do more.
I know the rising costs of rent, energy and food are pushing many families to the edge. I promise that this Council is on your side and will do everything we can to keep you in your home, or support you into a new one.”
Newham’s action plan details how the Council will support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness by:
- Providing focused support for people struggling in the private rented sector to help prevent them from becoming homeless;
- Develop more places that people can go for help, including a flagship Rough Sleeping Assessment Centre with 42 beds;
- Improving the quality and standards of temporary accommodation to give people more stability and security while reducing expensive nightly accommodation;
- Ensuring people with complex needs can access personalised support, such as people being discharged from hospital;
- Helping people to stay off the street by creating Tenancy Sustainment Officers to support people when they first move into the private rented sector;
- Finalising efforts that will improve the quality of supported accommodation for vulnerable adults.
A summary of the strategy is available here, while the full document including evidence, case studies, and a message from the Mayor is available here.