Peterborough MP to 'put pressure on' in youth homelessness pledge
Since 2020, more than £22 million has been spent by local councils on homeless prevention measures
The MP for Peterborough has said he will "put the pressure" on local authorities to make sure young people are able to come off the streets for good.
Since 2020, more than £22 million has been spent by councils across Cambridgeshire on tackling youth homelessness, such as on providing bed & breakfasts and hostels.
While we also found that in the last six years, there were more people aged 16 to 30 who were homeless or sought housing advice in Peterborough than anywhere else in the county.
"No one should be sleeping rough on the streets of Peterborough by choice in this day and age," Andrew Pakes, the city's Labour MP, said.
"We've got the resources and I will continue to put the pressure on the council and work with charities in the city to make sure the money we've got is spent helping the people who most need it."
'Long-standing challenge' around work and homelessness
Mr Pakes feels there is a connection between work and youth homelessness in Peterborough, and that more opportunities for young people to get into employment can be created.
Figures from the Department for Education for last year show 3.9% of 16-17-year-olds living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were identified as not in education, employment or training (NEET), above the national average.
"There's a long-standing challenge that Peterborough has around youth unemployment and homelessness," Mr Pakes added.
"The Government has injected money into the city, so we have better resources today than we've had for a number of years; what we need to make sure is that money gets to the frontline."
Since coming into office this summer, the new Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a £442m package for new accommodation and support for rough sleepers in a bid to get people off England's streets by Christmas.
A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said a personalised housing plan (PHP) is tailored for a homeless person's needs - such as housing requirements - in order to find them suitable accommodation.
"(This) includes actions that both the homeless person and the council consider reasonable to resolve their homelessness," the spokesperson said.
Moving on too quickly
As well as Light Project Peterborough which is tackling homelessness in the city, another charity playing its part in helping young people sleeping rough is Jimmy's in Cambridge.
When full, Jimmy's has 47 residents staying in either its move-on or modular homes, which are types of temporary accommodation that people can stay before going on to live independently.
But that process isn't always easy.
"Some of the hardest decisions I have to make is when we have residents who are desperate to move into their own tenancy, but I don't think they're quite ready," Matt Wiseman, housing team leader at Jimmy's Cambridge, said.
"I have to tell them they're not ready because the reality is if they move in when they're not ready, they don't manage it and then made homeless, they come back and start again."
Out of almost 20,000 young people who've been homeless in the county in the last six years, around a quarter have been helped into accommodation.
Matt believes some people who've come into Jimmy's after sleeping rough find it hard to adapt to their new surroundings.
"The hostel system is very loud, 24/7, people are shutting doors, you know someone's there," he said.
"All of a sudden, you put someone in a modular home, shut that door at night, they lay in bed silent and they don't like it, so that's another problem we have to deal with."
More social housing needed - Jimmy's
This summer, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has warned homelessness in England could rise by 25% if action from the Government isn't taken.
Matt believes as well as more homes, more work can be done before young people become homeless, such as better funding for mental health services.
"We have let homelessness become unmanageable to a point where we haven't built enough homes, there isn't enough social housing and I think (homeless) services need to come together," he added.
"We need to provide more supported accommodation to get the individuals ready to move into their own tenancy while social housing is being built."
A Government spokesperson said it plans to spend £3.6 billion to "end homelessness for good by providing more supported housing, stopping the unlawful use of B&Bs for families, and halving long term rough sleeping".
The Government has also promised to invest £39bn in more social and affordable housing.