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Gegli news - 'Homelessness crisis is like fighting a losing battle' - 12/22/2017 2:10:30 PM 2:10:30 PM 

Charities are demanding the Government do more to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness, saying it is now a national problem.

 An outreach worker battling to bring people in from the streets has said the growing problem of rough sleeping has made him feel like he is "fighting a losing battle".

Sky News joined Gerry Montefusco as he worked through the night as part of the London Street Rescue team, run by the homelessness organisation Thames Reach.

He receives information, or referrals, fed in from the authorities, charities and the public about where rough sleepers are in the London borough of Lewisham, and approaches them to help them find shelter.

"Sometimes I think that it's a losing battle... sometimes I don't know where to start, maybe in one night I go through eight, nine, 10 referrals.

"We need more support, that's what we need. I think by next year we're going to have more people on the streets," he said.

"We've got a lot of young people on the street at the moment, most of them it's because of relationship breakdown in the family and benefit problems."

It comes as homelessness charity Housing Justice says Government welfare reforms and soaring rents have resulted in a growing number of employed people ending up homeless and in night shelters.

Jacob Quagliozzi, the organisation's director for England, told Sky News the group's nationwide network of more than 100 church and community centre night shelters now regularly accommodate working people.

"If you went back 10 years and spoke to shelter projects it would be rare that you would have people in those shelter projects who worked.

"Now it's actually quite common - so that's a relatively new occurrence, but also the effect of welfare reform, particularly in some cases Universal Credit contributing to an increase in shelter numbers."

Liam Gallagher on stage in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh at the Sleep in the Park event. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday December 9, 2017. The Sleep in the Park event aims to raise £4 million to end rough sleeping and homelessness in Scotland. See PA story CHARITY Sleepout. Photo credit should read: Jeff Holmes/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illus
Image:Liam Gallagher supported the Sleep in the Park event in Edinburgh to raise funds to tackle the problem in Scotland

A damning National Audit Office report in September suggested a sharp rise in homelessness was fuelled by increasing private rents and cuts in housing benefits.

Official statistics show there has been a 132% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in England since 2010.

That is based on the Government estimate that more than 4,000 people are on the streets at any given point, but the charity Crisis says the true figure could now be closer to 9,000.

The number of households accepted as homeless by local authorities dropped dramatically between 2003 and 2009, but while the overall number remains well below the 2003 peak, there has been a 62% increase in homeless households since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.

More than 120,000 children are currently in temporary accommodation as a result of their families being deemed homeless, which is an increase of 65% since 2010.

While factors such as parents no longer being able to offer accommodation and relationship breakdowns remain common, since 2010 the number of people made homeless after being unable to afford a new lease at the end of a private rental tenancy has rocketed - making it by the far the single biggest contributor to homelessness.

Homelessness is worse than its ever been
Image:There has been a 132% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in England since 2010

In the recent Budget, the Chancellor committed to providing more than £1bn by 2020 to reduce all forms of homelessness, with the aim of halving rough sleeping by 2022, and eliminating it by 2027.

Next year, the Homelessness Reduction Act will also come into force, which will place a greater emphasis on ensuring residents are aware of support available to them, and putting a greater onus on local authorities to prevent homelessness occurring in the first place.

But while it welcomed the new legislation, London Councils, the group that represents all 32 London boroughs, has warned the money pledged by Government to fund these new prevention efforts goes "nowhere near" what councils need.

The number of rough sleepers is rising
Image:The number of rough sleepers is rising

Sir Steve Bullock, the executive member for housing at London Councils, told Sky News the capital will need an extra £77m a year to deliver on new obligations created by the Homelessness Prevention Act, but suggested money pledged by ministers will instead amount to around £73m over three years.

"It's the need to recruit staff, but also the cost of early intervention is getting people into situations where landlord does not evict them immediately before we find them somewhere else to go," he said.

"Any money helps, but to do this as well as it needs to be done, and there's no dispute that we all agree we need to do this, right now £73m over three years will go nowhere near what we need," he said.

Volunteer efforts to assist homeless people are now becoming increasingly visible across the country.

Homelessness is worse than its ever been
Image:More than 120,000 children are currently in temporary accommodation

In London, a group of black cab drivers runs a project called 'Taxi Warm Clothing', which sees them donate sleeping bags, blankets and coats from their vehicles.

Each Wednesday night they provide homeless people in Westminster with tea, coffee and leftover sandwiches donated by the food chain Eat.

Anton Haynes, a black cab driver involved in the project, told Sky News his work meant he was confronted with the growing crisis every day.

"I've seen it grow. When I started driving a cab years ago there was always rough sleeping, but now it's everywhere, it's pretty much every doorway," he said.

"It's in the news all the time at the moment, but there's not enough money spent on the homelessness problem.


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