Providing help and support for long-term rough sleepers on World Homeless Day
Additional funding and a two-week campaign to support those who have been rough sleeping long-term have been the focus of World Homeless Day this year in Birmingham.
For the past two weeks, organisations and agencies across Birmingham have joined the Indoors Campaign, offering beds and support to citizens who have been rough sleeping long-term.
The Indoors Campaign united around 20 different organisations from across Birmingham in an intensive two-week operation.
Around 15 individuals who were long-term rough sleepers were targeted by the campaign. By focusing on this small group, campaign partners have been able to make progress in providing support, such as facilitating access to accommodations, health services, or ongoing case management. This support will continue over the coming months, to ensure no one is left without support and to increase the chances of recovery from homelessness.
The campaign has coincided with World Homeless Day on 10 October and the government's announcement that Birmingham will receive £1.4 million in additional funding to help prevent homelessness and support families this winter.
Cllr Nicky Brennan, cabinet member for housing and homelessness, said:
“This campaign is about helping long-term rough sleepers to move indoors and stay indoors.
“The causes of homelessness are rarely simple. No one organisation can address all the issues that long-term rough sleepers face. The Indoors Campaign has been important for this reason. It brought organisations together to tackle the complex problems faced by long-term rough sleepers.
“To support these citizens, the campaign has been conscious of the need to take a different approach. It has been about asking these individuals what they need and then drawing on multiple organisations working together intensively for these two weeks to provide wrap-around support.
“We know that breaking the cycle of rough sleeping is difficult, however having spoken to many of the organisations involved, I am heartened to have heard stories of breakthroughs and small steps forward that we can now build upon.
“I would once again like to give my thanks to all the organisations involved in this campaign, as well as those with lived experience who have helped shape it.”
Commenting on the additional funding announced by the Government, Cllr Nicky Brennan added:
“The Labour Government is committed to ending homelessness and rough sleeping, and through this additional funding we will be able to continue our work here in Birmingham to prevent homelessness, support children and families in temporary accommodation, and help rough sleepers to get a roof over their heads.
“This funding will help us to build on the work of our Indoors Campaign, where we brought 20 organisations from across the city together to help long-term rough sleepers to find safe accommodation.”
