12 March 2015
St Mungo's Broadway has welcomed the announcement today of a new fund to improve the health of homeless people.
Homeless people will benefit from "a new £55 million fund to upgrade existing accommodation and provide new housing." The fund will be used over the next two years, with £25 million available for accommodation outside London and £30 million in London (£15 million from the Department of Health and £15 million from the Greater London Authority).
The money will be used for two types of projects:
* the Homeless Change project will provide upgraded hostel accommodation to improve physical and mental health outcomes for rough sleepers and to help reduce A&E attendances
* the Platform for Life project will create new low-rent shared accommodation for young people who want to work, but are struggling to hold down a job or attend college because of a lack of stable housing
Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of St Mungo's Broadway, said: "This vital funding for hostel improvement will transform buildings and in turn help transform lives.
"The focus on health is welcome. With Health and Wellbeing Boards across the country supporting our Charter for Homeless Health, we know that improving health is a vital part of tackling homelessness. Our client led manifesto highlights the importance of safe, supportive environments where people can start to move on with their lives, knowing that support is available for both housing and health.
"We particularly welcome the recognition that women living in hostels may have different needs to men. This reflects recommendations we made in our 2014 report, Rebuilding Shattered Lives, and will help to ensure women get the right help at the right time."
"While good news in terms of capital funding, the other element, however, is funding for support. As well as a roof over someone's head, this must also be about having the support of specialist workers to build bridges into health and other services so that people really can move away from homelessness for good. At a time of squeezed budgets, central and local government must have a joined up strategy with health and other agencies for tackling homelessness in ways that best offer help to those in need."
ENDS
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