Close to Home: Ending Rough Sleeping in England Post-Pandemic

Close to Home: Ending Rough Sleeping in England Post-Pandemic

Rough sleeping has a devastating impact on people’s lives, and the Government has made a bold and welcome commitment to end it. Building on the foundation of the Rough Sleeper Initiative, the Everyone In programme has protected tens of thousands of people from the dangers of rough sleeping during the pandemic. This has saved lives and will enable many people who had not previously engaged with services to leave rough sleeping for good.

While thousands of people helped by Everyone In are now on a pathway to a settled home, we are still seeing a flow of people new to rough sleeping coming onto the streets. Sadly, some of those initially offered emergency accommodation have also returned to the streets. These are often people who face multiple challenges such as serious mental health issues, a history of trauma and drug or alcohol dependency. The evidence tells us that Housing First should play a central role in Government’s plans to end rough sleeping, as part of a wider range of options.

To make the case for a concerted national effort to scale up the provision of Housing First, this event launched the findings from our new report Close to Home: Delivering a National Housing First Programme in England, published in February 2021.

Speakers