Press Release

Homeless Link welcomes Government initiatives on homelessness

14 November 2006

Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced today Government plans to tackle homelessness.

Welcoming the announcement, Jenny Edwards, chief executive of Homeless Link, said:

‘We’ve come a long way since the days when the most many homeless people could hope for was a bowl of soup and a bed for a night. Services are increasingly focused on helping people turn their lives around. This announcement moves things further forward.

‘We warmly welcome a move to ensure that hostels nationally become places of change - providing programmes of positive activities including skills and learning. This builds on and supports the excellent work many of our member organisations are already doing.

‘We also welcome the important pledge to take young people out of unsuitable Bed and Breakfast accommodation and into more supportive lodgings. These and the sort of family mediation schemes now proposed by the Government have already proven their value where they are currently offered. 

‘The important steps announced today will reduce homelessness and we applaud them as positive moves towards ending homelessness in this country. However, we will also be looking the forthcoming comprehensive spending review for confirmation that the Government is committed to ending this social blight forever.’

Homeless Link this month launched a campaign to end homelessness in the UK by 2022 and issued a challenge for the country to end rough sleeping by the time of the Olympics. This challenge was accepted on behalf of London by Mayor Ken Livingstone and on behalf of the Conservative Party by Caroline Spelman MP, Shadow spokesperson on Communities and Local Government.

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