Cabinet approves consultation to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet yesterday (Wednesday 17 April 2024) approved an eight-week consultation on a draft strategy to help prevent and reduce homelessness in the county.

The Draft Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024-2029 highlights how the council,, in collaboration with key partners, will deliver initiatives to help prevent homelessness, secure sufficient accommodation for those who are or at risk of becoming homeless and ensuring the right support is available to prevent people becoming homeless again.

The draft strategy sets out how the council will work collaboratively with its partners to address the underlying causes and consequences of homelessness and identifies four key priorities. These include:

• Developing a community and partnership approach to homeless prevention and early intervention.
• Meeting the complex and unique needs of our customers to prevent rough sleeping and repeat homelessness.
• Developing and improving access to a suitable range of settled, supported and temporary accommodation solutions.
• Delivering an effective and efficient and accessible Housing Options service tailored to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for housing and assets, said:-

“Homelessness is a serious issue that affects individuals, families, and communities across Shropshire. We are committed to preventing and reducing homelessness and ensuring that everyone has access to safe, secure, and affordable housing.

“I am pleased that Cabinet has now approved the draft Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy 2024-2029 for consultation.

“We recognise that homelessness is not just a housing issue, but a complex and multifaceted problem that requires a holistic and collaborative response.

“We want to ensure that everyone has a safe and secure place to call home, and that they receive the right support to overcome any barriers they may face. The strategy also recognises that homelessness and rough sleeping cannot be tackled by the council alone. The success of delivering our priorities relies on strong and effective partnership working with other organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

“This draft strategy sets out our vision and approach for tackling homelessness over the next five years. We will want to hear from as many people as possible during this consultation, to ensure our strategy’s vision, principles and objectives align with the needs and views of the communities we want to support, and with those organisations we work with.”

The draft Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy 2024-2029 will be available for consultation in due course and will be available on the Get Involved pages on Shropshire Council’s website.  You can view the draft strategy at Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday 17 April, 2024 — Shropshire Council