Naloxone Saves Lives

Drug-related deaths have increased rapidly in the past few years, so why aren’t more homelessness services using naloxone to prevent overdose deaths, asks Sunny Dhadley at Homeless Link? Naloxone is the emergency antidote for overdoses caused by heroin and other opiates/opioids. It temporarily reverses the main life-threatening effect of these drugs, which is the slowing […]

Stuck In ‘Temporary’ Accommodation For Years

More than 100,000 homeless households in England will be living in temporary housing within two years on existing trends, according to an annual state-of-the-nation report into homelessness. The report, Homeless Monitor, says the explosion in the placement of homeless families in temporary homes, often many miles from where they work and go to school, is […]

PSPOs And The Perils Of Begging

A woman has been jailed for six months after she was caught begging for 50p. Marie Baker, described as ‘fragile and vulnerable’, was locked up despite the District Judge, Philip Mackenzie, being upset she didn’t have a lawyer in court. Instead she somehow ended up representing herself in the civil case even though she was […]

Dying Homeless

The deaths of hundreds of vulnerable homeless people in England and Wales are going unexamined, an investigation has found. Research conducted by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) has revealed that safeguarding adults reviews (SARs) – which charities say are crucial to determining whether the deaths could have been prevented – have almost never been […]

Rough Sleepers Convicted For Being Homeless

Homeless people are being fined, getting criminal convictions and even sentenced to prison for begging and rough sleeping. The figures, obtained by the Guardian, show that over 50 local authorities have PSPOs in place, despite updated Home Office guidance at the start of the year instructing councils not to target people for being homeless and […]

The “Sickening Increase” Of Homelessness In Bristol

The scale of youth homelessness in Bristol is revealed in new figures – with family breakdown the most likely cause. The latest figures for the most recent quarter – the three months of July, August and September 2017 – show a rise in the number of people being officially accepted as a new homeless person […]

The Scale Of The Housing Crisis Exposed

As many as four million homes are needed to meet burgeoning demand, it was claimed, as new research reveals the “epic” scale of the housing crisis facing England. The estimate, calculated for the National Housing Federation and the charity Crisis, takes a comprehensive view of how many people do not have a place to call […]

Liverpool City Region Gets £7.7 Million To Pilot Housing First

Three areas in England are set to launch new pilot projects to support rough sleepers with complex needs get off the streets into stable and affordable accommodation. The projects in Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands Combined Authority, will offer individuals intensive support to recover from complex health issues, such as alcohol […]

Rough Sleeper Rejects Royal Wedding Protest

A long-time rough sleeper has dismissed protesters planning to line the royal wedding route in sleeping bags as “anarchists” intent on causing trouble. William “Bill” Watson, who has lived in the borough for four months, said planned homeless solidarity events were an excuse for people to “cause a riot”. The 50-year-old, originally from Harlington, west […]

Young People Not Getting The Housing Help They Need

More than half of all young homeless people, or those facing homelessness, who sought help from councils last year did not receive any meaningful support, according to new research. The research, conducted by the homeless charity Centrepoint and based on Freedom of Information responses, found that at least 86,000 young people in the UK are […]