A set of ambitious and bold measures to end homelessness in Haringey have been announced after Haringey Council approved a brand new Rough Sleeping Strategy on Tuesday night (11 July 2023).
268 people slept rough on the streets of Haringey in 2021-2022, yet this figure is likely to increase in the coming years owing to the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
However, through strong co-production, Haringey has established itself as a borough of national best practice in the field, with the implementation of a wide range of new services achieving a 71% reduction in rough sleeping.
The council will continue to work in close partnership with Haringey residents who have lived experience of homelessness, community partners and council officers to ensure positive changes can be made to end rough sleeping in the borough.
Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning, Cllr Sarah Williams, said:
As a borough, we are committed to ending street homelessness and ensuring that vulnerable people have access to high-quality supported accommodation that helps them rebuild their lives after homelessness.
We know that people experiencing homelessness have some of the poorest outcomes of all our residents. They are more likely to be unemployed; have unmet physical and mental health needs and are at risk of a preventable early death.
This strategy sets out a vision to end rough sleeping in Haringey that builds upon the bold and innovative work that began with the previous strategy, and continues to prioritise the views of our residents while incorporating best practice from across the sector.
Building on the successes delivered in the council’s previous Rough Sleeping Strategy, this latest version sets out a broad range of deliverable activities, commitments and principles.
The council’s commitments in this new Rough Sleeping Strategy are to:
- Make rough sleeping rare, and to prevent it where possible
- Ensure that where rough sleeping does occur, that it is brief
- Ensure that rough sleeping is non-recurrent
- Exhaust all options to support people with undetermined eligibility to have a route away from the streets
