Have your say on our draft Homelessness Strategy

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Have your say on our new Homelessness Strategy

Our draft Homelessness Strategy 2019 to 2024 is open for consultation. It sets out how we plan to prevent and respond to those at risk of losing their home or made homeless in Westminster. The strategy is informed by recent review of homelessness in the city which explored those affected by the issue, its causes and our services and local organisations.

Rough sleeping is a distinct problem with its own causes and solutions. This strategy therefore does not cover rough sleeping. Read about our detailed strategy to deliver a significant reduction in rough sleeping and address the harm it brings to individuals and communities in Westminster. You can also find out more information at the bottom of the page.

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Our new strategy proposes a 10-point plan to tackle and respond to homelessness in the city. It aims to:

prevent more people from becoming homeless
improve our response when people do become homeless
ensure our services are fit for the future

Expand to view our 10-point plan

Preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place:

reach more people at risk of homelessness at an earlier stage, by building a network of prevention and support, working with partners and communities.
make our services more visible through targeted information campaigns.
proactively offer personalised support to those at risk of homelessness where possible, from helping them negotiate with their landlord to offering employment and skills training so they can increase their income.
do more to identify and address the main causes of homelessness in Westminster and also the wider causes, through research and outreach.

Improving our services and response when people become homeless:

make our housing services more transparent, accountable and accessible
better communicate what we can and can’t offer.
ensure a range of accommodation is available for the homeless households that we have a housing duty towards, when homelessness cannot be prevented.
review how people access supported housing and ensure our supported housing meets needs, now, and in the future.

Meeting the challenges ahead and having a homelessness system fit for the future:

become a leader in the field of homelessness prevention proposing solutions and bringing key decision makers together to share information and ideas.
make the case for homelessness services and prevention work to be fully funded and lead the discussion with government and others on how the welfare system can work better for low income residents in central London, where the cost of living continues to increase beyond many people’s means

Your views matter

We want to hear what you think. Your feedback will help us finialise our homeless strategy so that it best serves our residents.

Alternatively, you can also download a feedback form and send it to:

Freepost WCC open forum
Westminster City Council
London, SW1E 6QP
(Homelessness Strategy)

or email: homelessnessstrategy@westminster.gov.uk

We will be holding two workshops where we will be talking about the draft homlessness strategy and getting your feedback about what our priorities should be. Find out more on our 'Housing policy and strategy' page.

Did you know?

There are three main types of homelessness: rough sleeping, statutory homelessness and hidden homeless.

rough sleeping is the most visible form of homelessness and includes people bedding down on the streets or sleeping on public transport. Its causes are complex.
statutory homelessness is where people have approached the local authority to report either being threatened with homelessness or have become homeless.
hidden homeless describes people not generally not included in official statistics as they may be staying with friends and family on a temporary basis. They may also be living in housing which is unfit for occupation for health and safety reasons.

Find out more on our housing policy and strategy page.

Why we have a dedicated Rough Sleeping Strategy - click to expand

The Homelessness Strategy is aimed at preventing all forms of homelessness amongst Westminster residents, but, when asked, less than three per cent of rough sleepers identified Westminster as their last settled base.

Rough Sleeping is rarely solely to do with a lack of home and those that find themselves on the street have often have experienced trauma, addiction or mental health problems, which means their solution is more than just a roof over their head. Often they have housing available to them but are not ready to make use of it or to engage with our services, they therefore need a different type of support.

Rough sleeping can have wider impacts on the community so the response needs to look beyond the individual. The government recognises that rough sleeping is a very different type of homelessness and is encouraging local authorities to have a dedicated rough sleeping strategy.

Find out how you can help someone sleeping rough.

Last updated: 28 August 2019

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Have your say on our new Homelessness Strategy

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