Middlesbrough-based homelessness charity urging PM to build homes
The Prime Minister pledged to end rough sleeping over a week ago
A homelessness charity in Teesside is urging the Prime Minister to be serious in building homes to help end rough sleeping.
Andy Burnham made that promise more than a week ago and CEO Sleepout reckons it's a long road ahead to deliver the pledge as there's no quick fix.
Bianca Robinson, chief executive of the Middlesbrough-based charity, said: "He's going to have to pull in a lot of different agencies, a lot of overlapping and interconnected departments because the issues that lead to homelessness are many and they're varied and they are hard baskets. And he's got to throw the money behind it as well. So, you know, I think it's all good. It's fantastic to hear a Prime Minister lead on that issue.
"For years homelessness in the UK, I think it's been a stain on our national conscience. I think it's probably the thing that points to our country's decline more than anything else. And you know there's still 382,000 people homeless - that's enough to fill Wembley Stadium more than four times over. 175,000 of that are children.
"In COVID, the Government instructed all councils across the UK to get everyone in and they had three days to do it and you know what? They got everyone in. Now those people went into hotels and sort of B&Bs and accommodation that's not fit for long term, so what we really need to do is put house building back on the agenda.
"We need a radical house building scheme that provides 150,000 homes minimum every year for the next five years just to get on top of the housing problem. And we need to make sure every upstream driver of rough sleeper homelessness is nipped at the bud, for the care system to be tightened up, prison leavers, we need to make sure if you are leaving prison, you've done your sentence, you've paid your debt to society, now have you got somewhere to at least hold you over until you can get on your feet and find somewhere to live? So those are the two biggest drivers of rough sleeper homelessness right there and then we have things like addiction and recovery.
"Housing First is a scheme that has ended homelessness in some of the Scandinavian countries. And what it means is that somebody doesn't sleep rough, secure accommodation, that they can make a little home for themselves, but with support, making sure there's no second night out. If we can get on top of homelessness, I mean, that's a really noble vision.
"Rough sleeper homelessness is the tip of a very large homelessness iceberg where we've got people living in all sorts of unfit accommodation. Sofa surfing is absolutely huge. Modern slavery is absolutely huge where you've got to think, well, what are those people doing to earn their place under that roof?"