Agencies combine in attempt to target homelessness.
Around fifty volunteers took part in Wednesday night’s annual count of rough sleepers, checking Birmingham city centre and areas across the city.
The count was undertaken by volunteers from Birmingham Social Housing Partnership, Change Grow Live, Citizen’s Panel, Crisis, Midland Heart, NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, Salvation Army, St Basil’s, Trident Reach, local councillors and MPs. An independent verifier from Homeless Link was also in attendance.
The annual count is carried out by local authorities throughout the country on behalf of the government to give a snapshot picture of rough sleeping. It provides useful information on where rough sleeping is on the increase, and where there has been success in combating it.
The final verified figure will be submitted to DCLG – the government’s Department for Communities and Local Government – on 15th December and it is expected that the government will publish figures for the whole country towards the end of January 2018.
Anyone who sees someone they think is sleeping rough is advised to contact StreetLink – streetlink.org.uk – who will arrange for an outreach worker to meet them and encourage them to take up offers of support and a place to stay. The council is working with outreach teams, health workers, the police and voluntary sector to support people on the streets in the city centre. You can find out more by following @StreetTeamBham on twitter.
