SHOCKING statistics show rough sleeping in the West Midlands has increased by 62 per cent since 2010.
The figures illustrate there are almost 300 people across the region sleeping outside every night of the year and 8,000 in total across England.
More worryingly, if nothing changes, it is predicted that number will reach 15,000 by 2026 and there are a further 9,000 homeless people sleeping in tents, cars, trains and buses.
National homeless charity Crisis has called for urgent action from the Government and has put forward solutions it said were needed to end the problem.
The best way to end homelessness, according to Crisis, are:
* Widely adopting a housing-led approach where housing someone is made priority, including the use of Housing First, a programme which gives the most vulnerable rough sleepers their own home and specialist support.
* Taking swift action to quickly end street homelessness through interventions such as No Second Night Out. This programme helps get people off the street and into accommodation and reduces the number of rough sleepers who develop further support needs.
* Taking a ‘person-centred’ approach by tailoring support to take individuals’ needs into account, such as using personalised budgets to commission services.
* Ensuring interventions take account of local housing markets and individuals’ needs.
Crisis added any strategy to address rough sleeping must address those principles and offer good quality short-term emergency accommodation and prevention services.
Chief Executive of Crisis Jon Sparkes said: “It is truly a catastrophe that in a country as prosperous as this, more and more people are finding themselves forced to sleep in dangerous and freezing conditions, when we have evidence to show how the situation could be turned around.
“The report makes it only too clear that unless we take action as a society, the problem is only going to keep getting worse with every year that passes.
“Rough sleeping ruins lives, leaving people vulnerable to violence and abuse, and taking a dreadful toll on mental and physical health.
“Our research has shown how rough sleepers are 17 times more likely to be victims of violence.
“This is no way for anyone to live.”
He added while Crisis warmly welcomed the Government’s pledges to tackle rough sleeping, including a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Taskforce, the charity had solutions to end rough sleeping for good and called on the Government to tackle the problem once and for all.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is led by Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid.
A spokesperson for the Ministry said: “No one should ever have to sleep rough.
“That’s why this Government is committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027.
“To break the homelessness cycle once and for all, we are providing over £1billion of funding, supporting rough sleepers with the most complex needs through a new Housing First approach and bringing in the most ambitious legislation in decades that will mean people get the support they need earlier.
“In addition a new cross-Government taskforce supported by a panel of experts will drive forward a new strategy that will make life on the streets a thing of the past.”
